Pallas, Juno, and Vesta: The Three Jewels of Your Astrology Chart

We are all diamonds, and we have many facets to our personalities. We can show one aspect of ourselves to one person and another to someone else. One of our attributes may come out in a certain situation, and a different side may rise to the surface in another. Sometimes we feel energetic and ready to take on the world, and sometimes we need our solitude, and want to reflect on where we are in our life journey.

Since we contain such a multitude of personality traits, it's good to know that we can find representations of ourselves in the Cosmos, especially through the three gems of the asteroid belt, namely, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta.

First, it's true that we are now in a great time astrologically, since so much of the myth and psychology that is involved in astrological analysis and assessment is being echoed in the wider world, through astronomy, the offshoot of ancient astrology. Every time another astronomical discovery or decision is made, another goddess is brought into the world consciousness, and her astrological attributes become more disseminated, and more widely understood.

Now that Ceres, first thought to be a planet when discovered in 1801, and then demoted to an asteroid, has been bumped up a notch and promoted to dwarf planet status, we are left with the three most astrologically discussed and accessible goddess asteroids, namely Pallas, asteroid #2, Juno, asteroid #3, and Vesta, asteroid #4.

You can check out the asteroid placements of the goddesses through an ephemeris, or an astrological calculator. That way you can chart where they were at your birth, and also where they are now, by transit through your chart.

But unless you have an understanding of their mythological and archetypal status in the Cosmic world, you may not realize how important they are to you, and how you can incorporate what they have to say to you astrologically into your journey of self knowledge. After all, the more you know yourself, the better decisions you can make.

Pallas is the goddess of wisdom, and she is also the goddess of self-defense. Pallas sprang fully formed and armed from the head of her father, the king of heaven. Pallas is also an artisan, and is connected to the art of weaving. Pallas' symbol is the wise owl. She is in charge of defending herself and those important to her, and she creates objects of lasting beauty, through her love of fabric, and her skill with a needle and thread.

Pallas is never the aggressor; she never strikes first, but she defends herself and those she loves. She is in essence the warrior queen, and the philosopher. Her closest astrological sign seems to be Sagittarius, and the house she most resonates with would be the ninth, the sector in our charts that relates to our philosophical take on the world, since we are all philosophers, even if we are not aware of it.

Anytime we come up with a reason or a theory as to why we want to live our lives a certain way, we are exercising our philosophical side. This is where Pallas comes in. When we have to defend ourselves and come up with a strategy to deal with office politics, or school or neighborhood or community cliques, this is where Pallas comes in. When we are attacked by others because of our political or religious beliefs, or our lifestyle choices, or for no reason at all besides someone's obscene desire to vilify and bully us, this is where Pallas comes in.

We use our wisdom when we need to, and if we have to do battle against someone or something, the wiser we are, the more likely we are of achieving success. When we have to deal with someone we find difficult, if we can chart his or her day of birth, and locate where Pallas was for our rival, or our opponent, we can better understand who we are dealing with.

Likewise, it is a positive thing for us to know where our own Pallas placement is, according to house and sign, so we can determine for ourselves how and in what way we process wisdom, and how and in what way we deal with conflict. The fact that Pallas does not take the part of the aggressor or the bully should give us the encouraging knowledge that she can be trusted.

Juno is the goddess of marriage and the month June is named after her. That is why June has a tradition of being the best month to get married in, good weather and the end of the school year notwithstanding.

Juno's placement can show us how we feel about marriage, what marriage means to us, what we do or do not desire in our marriage relationship, or if we even want to get married in the first place. Astrologically, a common-law relationship or a civil partnership also constitutes a marriage, as does any long term living arrangement. Those partnerships, civil unions, common law relationships, or marriages, fall under the rulership of the seventh house in astrology.

Libra is the natural ruler of the seventh house and Juno is most comfortable in the sign of Libra, since Libra rules love and marriage and courtship. Checking out the Juno placement of someone we are interested in should tell us a lot about this person, and his or her attitude to long term relationships. We can also get a glimpse of the sort of partner he or she might be.

For example, an individual with their Juno in Aries would be interested in marrying a dynamic, attractive, and passionate person, someone who would have their own sense of identity and not be afraid to take charge of their own life and be independent. A person with Juno in Aries would bring a strong sense of self to their partnerships, and would not appreciate their domestic partner telling them what to do. They would want to make their own decisions. They might also have a jealous streak, and want their partner's full attention, along with their love and loyalty.

Vesta is the guardian of the hearth and home. Vesta is the goddess in charge of the eternal flame, the one that keeps the household alive, safe and well. Vesta is the divine representation of the flame inside ourselves, the one that gives us our spark of life.

Vesta is the place in our charts that allows us to understand the way we feel towards our home, and our family. Beyond that, she is the inspiration inside ourselves that keeps us going. She is the flame of our ambitions, and our desire to keep surviving in a difficult world. She is the joy we feel when we accomplish a goal, or make our dreams realities.

Vesta was not allowed to fall in love, since she needed to keep herself committed to the endless tending of the flame that allowed Rome to exist. If the flame went out, Rome would die. It was that simple. There are many goddess points for us to look at in our all important quest for love, but Vesta is not one of them.

Vesta is the place in our charts that belongs to us and us alone. She is the inner spark we need to survive all odds, and to keep our spirits intact on the darkest day. She is also the light that guides us and allows us to take joy in our lives, and in our accomplishments. She is our inner light and the life inside ourselves.

If Vesta is transiting our first house, for example, then we know it is time we check out our own desires and needs for our lives. If our fifth house is activated, it is a signal we need to nourish the flame that imbues our creativity. If we have children, we may need to deal with them and their needs, and perhaps give them encouragement, and a pep talk, if necessary.

Vesta in our eighth house could mean we should look at our sexual lives, to see if we are getting so consumed with our intimate relationships that we have lost focus in other areas of our lives.

Vesta in our eleventh house may act as a vitalizing agent for our long burning hopes for our lives. Vesta moving through our twelfth house might cause us to reflect on whether we are really happy internally, in the place inside ourselves no one ever sees. We could investigate metaphysical disciplines, as in dream interpretation, to see if we can discover what is missing in our lives.

The more we use the astrological goddesses of knowledge, relationships and self-fulfillment, the better able we will be to learn who we really are, and make more informed choices for ourselves.