New Moon- Imbolc- Venus Vesta Conjunction.

As the earth in the northern hemisphere awakens and stirs, February’s gate opens with a new Moon at 12 degrees of Aquarius. The cross-quarter point of Imbolc at 15 degrees of Aquarius – between winter solstice and spring equinox- is a lunar fire festival traditionally connected with purification.

Even while spiring is not quite here and winter has not entirely left, the first stirrings are felt from deep in the Earth and there is a sense of hope and renewal.

The Christian holiday of Candlemas celebrated on February 2^nd can be traced back to 4^th century Greece is also a purification holiday and a celebration of the returning light.

At Imbolc, Brigid, goddess of fire and inspiration invites us to connect with our own rising fire, our shakti, and dream into our soul’s longing.

The Sabian Symbol of the Sun and New Moon is:

 (AQUARIUS 13°): A BAROMETER.

KEYNOTE: The ability to discover basic natural facts that allow us to plan in advance for action.

Here we are no longer dealing with ascent or descent, but with natural laws which involve causal relationships and the passage of one natural condition into another. Planning for the near future is a possibility because the potential (or seed) of the future is already operating at the core of the present.

The Keyword is ANTICIPATION.

At the point of the New Moon, asteroid Vesta is conjunct Venus in her newly risen status as Morning Star or Venus Lucifera, at 11 Capricorn.

Vesta or Hestia is also associated with Imbolc; as a hearth goddess, she was the keeper of the fire and sacred flame. On an esoteric level, Brigid and Vesta are connected with the raising of the inner fires and the kundalini, a rising that is mirrored in the newly birthed earth energy.

Prior to their role as Vestal Virgins in the temple of Vesta in Rome where their duty was to keep the sacred flame burning, according to Demetra George, the Vestas were the sacred sexual priestesses who worked with the sexual fire in service to the Moon goddess.

Before the patriarchal take-over the virgins- that is whole unto herself- lay with the King’s men on the solstices in a sacred cave, the results of which produced the successive heir to the throne if the King’s consort did not conceive that year.

Vesta represents single pointed focus and concentration of energy, Demetra George says that Vesta is the High Priestesses archetype that kick starts the process of transformation through the compression of energy that gains traction, is released, and springs forward in a burst of psychic energy.

With Venus ahead of the morning Sun in her fierier aspect as Light bearer, and Vesta as the keeper of the inner light, this New Moon conjunction has the quality of feminine energy that may be used for a purpose other than consort, wife, lover, mother, or erotic partner. This is the self-sustaining, self-generating complete feminine system akin to the Virgo/ virgin energy able to be concentrated as single pointed, inward turned power for the purposes of self generation and transformation.

The Sabian Symbol for the Vesta Venus conjunction is –

AN ILLUSTRATED LECTURE ON NATURAL SCIENCE REVEALS LITTLE-KNOWN ASPECTS OF LIFE.

KEYNOTE: The ability to explore unfamiliar realms and discover the laws underlying the complex processes of nature.

It is man’s essential function to become fully conscious of all life forms and processes on this earth. Mankind is the conscious mind of the planet.

To me this speaks of the bio-mystical processes and capabilities of the divine feminine, where the human being is a living system fully connected to the organic and natural processes of biological life, and with Spirit. This is the power of Vesta and when she is in alliance with Venus the erotic energy is turned inward to facilitate a direct experience of source energy or gnosis.

What does this mean for us? Intuitively I sense that the potential of this time- the Imbolc threshold- New Moon- Venus Morning Star is an opportunity to bring awareness to ourselves as creators. In psychological terms we may be motivated to begin to take back projections that we have factored out to others and to the world generally, and to resist projection from others. If we have been deriving self identity from the perceptions of others, the process of engaging with our own inner authority is now available. It is an opportunity to address issues such as co-dependency and need for external validation.

Even if autonomy and self-authority seems out of reach for now, deciding to reclaim this power is a confirmation of self responsibility.

No man or woman is an island and to an extent we have all been conditioned to outsource our power and energy, however if we consider thresholds as a turning point, to become more aware of how we spend our energy, on what, with whom and for what purpose we have a chance to own ourselves as creators.

As a lunar fire festival traditionally connected with purification, Imbolc invites purification on all levels, physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

To separate what is ours and what is not ours is a beautiful process. When the inner fires of purification burn away the dross of the admixture, who and what is left?