☆♥*♥☆Vesta~Asteroid Goddess☆♥*♥☆

by Lorraine Valente

Vesta~Asteroid Goddess of Fire, Sacred Virgin, Sister to Ceres

Discovery Date: March 29, 1807

Keywords: Service, Fire, Lamp, Dedication, Commitment, Career or Causes, Focus, Hearth, Dungeon*, Basements*, Detachment, Kundalini energy, Rituals and Initiations, Fertility, Promiscuity, Celibacy, Teacher or Scholar, Tradition, Contracts, Keeper of Esoteric Wisdom, Sacrifice, Altars and Ceremonial objects, Work commitments, Alternate sexual behaviors, Working to compensate for life's disappointments, Conservation and Safety, Transmute sexual energy for Enlightenment and Liberation.

The Sacred Virgin is symbol for lovely Asteroid Goddess Vesta, also known as Hestia by the Greeks, relating to the sign Virgo. Vesta was worshipped as Goddess of the hearth and keeper of the sacred flame. She placed a shrine at the center of every home, similar to our modern day fireplaces or Native American sweat lodge pits, where loved ones gather around; friends and family have the opportunity to bond. 
She is the brightest of asteroids and is the only one who can be seen with the naked eye. How fitting for one who is guardian of sacred fires. Since Vesta was chosen to guard and protect these sacred flames, she came to symbolize food, shelter, hospitality, and social contacts. She provided a sanctuary of protection.

Click here: Sweat Lodge

The Romans utilized her eternal fire and chose the Virgins at the age of six (6), before the Saturn square. According to Wikipedia (2010), "the Vestals were committed to the priesthood at a young age (before puberty) and were sworn to celibacy for a period of 30 years. These 30 years were, in turn, divided into three periods of a decade each: ten as students, ten in service, and ten as teachers. Afterwards, they could marry if they chose to do so. However, few took the opportunity to leave their respected role in those luxurious surroundings. Leaving would have also required them to submit to the authority of a man, with all the restrictions placed on women by Roman law." Ironically, when a man married a former Vestal, it was considered a high honor.

A similar myth comes from pre-Hellenistic Greece. The sacred flame guarded by the priestesses symbolized the Kundalini fires of Indian Yoga practice and the secret powers of sexual alchemy. The woman who tended to these fires were known as Virgins, yet not because they were sexually chaste, because they remained unmarried and belong to no man. There wasn't a desire to be defined or controlled by any man. (don’t you love it??) “Ms. Vesta” was way before her time; perhaps the first woman’s rights activist!