Vesta's placement in the horoscope shows where and how we can be dedicated, where we can focus our energies to the greatest effect. But it also shows where, periodically, we have to withdraw and "recharge our batteries." If we don't, we will become drained, and even sick.
Vesta also has an effect on our sexuality, but it is not the raw, animal drive of Mars or Pluto. It is more of a reasoned choice, which is in tune with Vesta's affinity with the sign of Virgo.
Lenore Cantor told the following story in a lecture some years back. She was going to visit the late Charles Emerson and she got stuck between floors in his elevator. While she was waiting for the repair crew to arrive, Charles shouted down the elevator shaft: "Lenore, where's your Vesta?"
Vesta also rules small, confined places.
Vesta in the Houses:
Vesta in the 1st House: Every now and then, you have to get away from everybody and everything in order to recharge. If Vesta is close to the Ascendant, there may have been some blockage at the time of birth.
Vesta in the 2nd House: You have to stop work more often than other people in order to recharge, but this only applies to work where you earn money. You can still do personal tasks around the house. This is different from those who have Vesta in the 6th house because those folks have to stop all work periodically.
Vesta in the 3rd House: To recharge, you have to clam up and stop communicating for a while. If you have brothers or sisters, you can't be around them continuously because they can drain you. You have to get away. Neighbors have the same effect, but since one is not usually around them 24 hours a day, this will be less of a problem.
Vesta in the 4th House: Being home too much will drain you. This is easy enough to cure. Just get out more.
Vesta in the 5th House: Romance can be hot and heavy, but then you simply have to take a break. Be sure to explain to your lovers that you have Vesta in the 5th house and that means you have to get away for a while to recharge because otherwise you may get sick. I'm sure they will understand. The 5th house also rules children, sports, games, creativity, gambling, speculation, hobbies, and any activity that is fun. Explain to your spouse that every now and then, THEY have to watch the little darlings because you get too drained. Creative pursuits, sports, and games can also be tolerated for only so long. Then you have to withdraw and recharge. It is the same with hobbies. No matter how much you love them, you have to get away for a while every now and then. As for gambling and speculation, well, don't become a day-trader.
Vesta in the 6th House: I have this one. Every now and then, you have to take an extra day off from work. If you don't, you will get drained and sick. When you do work, you can be highly focused. The nature of your work style will depend on the sign that Vesta is in
Vesta in the 7th House: When you are married or living with someone (someone you are involved with, and not just a roommate) you have to have your own space. You cannot be around them 24 hours a day. Get away, even if it is just for an hour or so at a time. If not, you will tend to get drained and sick. Be sure to discuss this with them before you move in together, otherwise they might think it is strange when you want to take separate vacations.
Vesta in the 8th House: A long time ago, there was a quiz show called "You Bet Your Life" hosted by Groucho Marx. One of the contestants had nine children. When he was asked why he had so many children, the gentleman replied "I like it Groucho." Groucho's punch line was "I like my cigar too, but I take it out of my mouth every now and then." Sorry, but if you have Vesta in the 8th house, you (unlike that gentleman) simply cannot have sex 24/7. Take a break.
Vesta in the 9th House: This is the house of long journeys, both mental and physical. This includes higher education. If you are studying for an advanced degree, make sure to allow extra time in the schedule for rest. You can only be on a long trip for a certain length of time. Stay away from home too long and you will get drained.
Vesta in the 10th House: Like those with Vesta in the 6th house, you have to get away from work in order to recharge. In addition, you also have to stay out of the public eye. Hide for a while until you recharge. The 10th house rules the "boss" as well. If you have one, you have to find some way to avoid them every now and then.
Vesta in the 11th House: Let your friends know that periodically you have to get away from them in order to recharge. You also have to take a periodic break from pursuing your own "hopes and wishes."
Vesta in the 12th House: This is the house of withdrawal. Paradoxically, you have to withdraw from withdrawing! Don't spend a long time on a religious retreat, for instance, or in a hospital. Just being in a place of restriction or withdrawal will tend to drain you.
Vesta in the Signs:
Vesta in Aries: gives the ability to focus quickly and intensively on any task. Good for non-routine projects requiring direct action.
Vesta in Taurus: takes time to focus, but once they do, they may find it difficult to stop. Good for anything requiring lots of persistence.
Vesta in Gemini: focuses on communication and information. Good for focusing on multiple projects.
Vesta in Cancer: focuses on home and domestic matters. Good for any project requiring intuition and for focusing on the emotional or feeling side of any situation.
Vesta in Leo: focuses on creativity and self-expression. Good for focusing on the dramatic or creative side of any situation.
Vesta in Virgo: focuses on details. Good for any project requiring precision and attention to detail.
Vesta in Libra: focuses on partnership matters. Good for focusing on either the social or artistic side of any situation. Good also for projects requiring an artistic sense or social interaction.
Vesta in Scorpio: focuses on finding hidden secrets, or on matters concerning rehabilitation or elimination. Good for projects where something is either transformed or eliminated, or where something hidden must be investigated.
Vesta in Sagittarius: focuses on the "big picture." Good for projects requiring enthusiasm and the adventure.
Vesta in Capricorn: focuses on organization and control. Good for projects requiring a lot of planning and persistence.
Vesta in Aquarius: focuses on friends or dealing with groups of people. Good for projects that are new and "different," even a bit shocking.
Vesta in Pisces: focuses on dreams and imagination. Good for projects focusing on helping people, or for any project requiring lots of imagination.
Vesta in Aspect:
Vesta Aspecting the Sun: The harmonius aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) mean that the ability to focus will come more naturally to you. With the stressful aspects (square and opposition) you have to work at it. The tendency with the stressful aspects is either to be over focused, or have difficulty focusing at all.
Vesta Aspecting the Moon: The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) can give an instinctive ability to focus (as contrasted with the conscious, direct focusing ability of Sun-Vesta aspects). The stressful aspects (square and opposition) can indicate someone who uses work to avoid their own feelings, or a mother who was like that. The other side of Moon-Vesta stress aspects is the person who cannot seem to focus because their emotions run wild. It goes without saying that the real job in these cases is to work on expressing feelings without loosing focus and getting hysterical.
Vesta Aspecting Mercury: The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) increase the ability to focus on communication and other mental tasks. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) could mean a tendency to focus compulsively on details and day-to-day tasks (Mercury) or someone who cannot seem to handle them at all. There could also be a tendency to talk much and say little, or, more generally, a difficulty with communicating. This could also indicate someone who talks a good deal about sex, but can't deliver when it counts.
Vesta Aspecting Venus: Venus rules one's social skills and artistic abilities. More generally, it governs our ability to experience pleasure and be happy. Harmonious aspects ((conjunction, sextile and trine) with Vesta can make it easier to focus on these things. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) may indicate a tendency to avoid happiness by concentrating on work, or someone who has difficulty getting any pleasure from their work. Work could also be used to avoid social interaction. Conversely, this could be someone who only focuses on pleasure and social situations and refuses to work at all.
Vesta Aspecting Mars: The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) show increased ability to focus one's energy, especially on work. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) can indicate a tendency to overwork in order to compensate for sexual problems or problems with repressed anger. Other negative outcomes include an increase in angry behavior or other forms of aggression in order to compensate for impotence.
Vesta Aspecting Jupiter: Jupiter is the planet of optimism, and it expands whatever it touches. The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) between Jupiter and Vesta are good for focusing on the big picture or big projects, on intellectual, philosophical, or religious matters. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) could manifest as religious or philosophical fanaticism (too much focus on one's own point of view) or, conversely, a total lack of focus on matters involving general principles. Overemphasis of sexual matters is also more likely with the stress aspects.
Vesta Aspecting Saturn: Both of these have to do with the ability to focus. The harmonious aspects (sextile and trine) can increase the discipline, organization, and dedication that you devote to work. The stressful aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) can make for a workaholic drudge or someone who has difficulties (Saturn) focusing on work at all. Needless to say, stressful aspects between Saturn and Vesta increase the chance of sexual hang-ups, especially repression and denial.
Vesta Aspecting Uranus: Uranus shows where we cannot stand to be ordinary, where we tend to want to do things differently, where we may be able to manifest genius. The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) make it easier to focus our innovative abilities. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) could cause difficulties in focusing on ordinary, day-to-day pursuits (like doing the laundry or taking out the garbage) as well as giving a dislike or "normal" social obligations.
Vesta Aspecting Neptune: Neptune rules dreams and imagination. The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) tend to increase the ability to focus the imagination. This can be a very good placement for both artists and scientists, since it makes visualization of the final product easier. The stressful aspects (square and opposition) can make concentration on ordinary tasks more difficult. Contrast this with the Uranus/Vesta aspects. Uranus and Neptune both loathe anything ordinary, but whereas Uranus rebels, Neptune simply takes your mind away to daydream land.
Vesta Aspecting Pluto: Yes, Pluto concentrates too, but in a different way. Pluto rules obsession, which is a highly emotional thing. The harmonious aspects (sextile and trine) make it easier to transform things, to focus on finding whatever is hidden from normal view. This is a good placement for doctors, salvage operators, and detectives. The stressful aspects (conjunction, square, and opposition) could indicate a problem with the more destructive side of Pluto. I really hate to give negative examples because there is always someone out there who will say "Oh no! I've got the same thing as that terrible person! I'm doomed to be just like them!" No you're not. It takes more than one aspect to do that, and yes, we DO have some choice in the matter. We can choose to manifest the positive side of any aspect. That being said, the serial killers Ted Bundy and Richard Cottingham (who were born only one day apart) both had the Sun opposite the Pluto/Vesta midpoint (as did thousands of others who were born on those days and who didn't become serial killers). Both had several other signatures of killers in their horoscopes, but this aspects tendency to focus on destruction didn't help. Of course, with proper therapy, they could have gone into the healing professions instead. In fact, Bundy was interested in psychology in college.
Vesta Aspecting the Ascendant: The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) make it easier to focus in general (particularly the conjunction). The opposition aspect could indicate focus on someone else (particularly a partner). It could also indicate that one focuses better when there is someone else around. The square aspect could show difficulties with partners over who does what work. Partners could also interfere with work and focus, but with the square, there could be difficulty focusing even without a partner because the things you want to focus on (shown by the sign where you have Vesta) clash with the type of person you are (shown by the sign on the Ascendant).
Vesta Aspecting the Mid-Heaven: The harmonious aspects (conjunction, sextile and trine) make it easier to focus on career and career related matters. But remember that any aspect to the Mid-Heaven is also an aspect to the Nadir, the beginning of the 4th house. This means that Vesta in aspect to the Mid-Heaven can increase focus on domestic matters as well. For this reason, the opposition cannot be considered to be as stressful. In fact, the only stressful aspect here is the square. The square indicates someone who is (once again) a workaholic or, conversely, someone who has difficulty focusing on work, or tries to avoid it at all costs.