By Erik M Roth of Inspiral Nexus
Link to my astrology page: https://www.facebook.com/InSpiralNexus
The only asteroid we can see with the naked eye, Vesta, stations retrograde on July 8th at 6°53’ Pisces. Vesta is a symbol of our sacred hearth within, the sign/archetype which is nurtured and held in sacred trust in ourselves. The astrological house also matters to expression to one’s natal Vesta position. The retrograde point of Vesta takes place about every 16-17 months and signals the ending of its synodic cycle until it reaches opposition with the Sun, which comes up August 22nd.
The Earth has caught up with Vesta, which orbits between Mars and Jupiter and is one of the most massive asteroids and is nearly large enough to be a small planet. Vesta is in the sign of Pisces, a sign that opens the heart and spirit to the great ocean of the cosmos, loving and between the middle world and the celestial realm.
Pisces is an archetype of the Empath and Healer, transcending the attachments of the complexities of the middle world life. Pisces is of service to the humanity, the divine and beyond. As an archetype, it is at home in the dream world, merging with feelings in totality, taking other forms as it takes on the feelings of others.
Pisces is made for transitory states with those forms and dreams and not to stay locked into a feeling or become addicted to it. Its service can help others by its recognition and understanding of the feelings of others and how much power those can hold, reaching into the deepest fractures and wounds of the psyche and heart to help guide a person to heal.
Vesta’s role with Pisces is to assist us in opening our hearts to be of sacred service without bias. It is also in recognizing the healer and empath within ourselves, nurturing it as a strength rather than some perceived weakness. When we get out of our head and into our heart, we can realize and learn on a significantly different level of knowledge that goes beyond the Western mechanistic paradigm. It can free ourselves into the oneness with the divine itself.
On the planet today, there seems to be a great deficit of empathy and compassion, especially with the increase in mass shootings and deepening divisions, splitting communities and cultures apart. There is an overflowing amount of fear and psychic wounding all around us. The fears and wounds come from that separation with the oneness and of seeing others that remind us of our own wounds. These can create powerful knots of energy in our psyche called complexes, which can act out unconsciously and create more wounds and spread fears.
Reaching within our hearts and learning to accept the gifts of healing through empathy and compassion, without judgment, then we can begin our own healing journey. Vesta in Pisces can help make it a sacred process and to understand our own patterns and relationship to the divine.
Vesta’s retrograde journey takes it back into the sign of Aquarius on August 21st, just one day before the asteroid’s opposition with the Sun and start of a new synodic cycle. Vesta will spend a total of three months in retrograde until October 5th when it stations direct at 22°58’ Aquarius, then move back into Pisces on November 20th.
We can include the sign of Aquarius in a merging with Pisces during this retrograde period and start of a new synodic cycle. Both Aquarius and Pisces are signs with strong resonance with the celestial or upper realm. Aquarius connects to the upper realm through its expansion of consciousness, the mind and desire for objective reality and cosmic perspective. Pisces connects through its desire for oneness between the heart and the divine and to be of universal service to all without egoic bias.
With Aquarius and Pisces, Vesta encourages us to co-create sacred space (temple, grove, garden, etc) inclusive of empathy, conscious change, compassion, service, and objective reality. It is about manifesting the healthy qualities of each of these archetypal energies for the higher benefit of all.
Vesta’s retrograde pattern in the sky also contributes to the intent of this transit. The area of the sky that Vesta is in is currently below the ecliptic and between the Goat-Fish and Water-Bearer constellations. It stations retrograde around the knees and water droplets (going into the cosmic waters and Earth), then retrogrades back over in late September and October below the tail of the Goat-Fish.
This is a transitionary region of the sky. Vesta will be helping us as it crosses back and forth over it. Vesta will activate and access the wisdom of the ancient stories and our own natural human abilities to adapt and adjust to the great turning of a new age, that has been in the works for decades now.
As we recognize Vesta stationing retrograde on July 8, we can open our hearts and consciousness to greater levels of compassion and healing. We can give to others in a healthy way and be of service in the world. Vesta is assisting us in these sacred innate gifts we possess and it is emphasized during the retrograde period.
