Alex's Asteroid Astrology

Vesta was the Roman goddess of the hearth and home, personified by the fire of her temple in the Roman Forum, the heart of the ancient city.

None but her priestesses, the Vestal Virgins, were allowed into the inner sanctum, where Vesta’s fires, symbolizing her protective powers for the Roman people, were kept constantly burning. Vesta was a daughter of Saturn, and thus the sister of Jupiter.

Vesta was also the guardian of the threshold, metaphorically that liminal space between two realities or states of being. And as such, although she never married, she and Janus were spiritually present at every marriage, as a maiden transitioned to a wife. Vesta ruled the threshold, while Janus ruled the actual doorway, and brides were counselled not to tread upon the threshold itself on the day of their marriage, lest they offend the goddess. From this advice came the custom of brides being carried over the threshold by their grooms upon the occasion of their first entry into their new home.

The asteroid Vesta was the fourth asteroid discovered, in 1807. It is the second largest in the Asteroid Belt, comprising some 9% of the total mass of that region.

Astrologically, Vesta represents dedication and service; protection; liminal spaces or events; sublimation of personal interests or self-sacrifice for the greater good; and commitment to work, accomplishment or goals, above all other concerns.