Today, December 23rd, focus is on a Fist of God with asteroid Ceres as the focal point. This came together yesterday and will continue through the 28th, with a promise of unsettled relationships among authority figures/ Mother Nature, society as a whole, travelers, and those who wish to expand or educate, and the areas of life we find sacred, including the home and sexual expression. This particular combination may be seen at work in the hubbub surrounding Obama’s selection of anti-gay rights preacher Rick Warren, the release of  the movie ‘Milk,’ the story of openly gay San Francisco city councilor Harvey Milk’s murder (along with SF Mayor George Moscone) at the hands of Dan White (who entered the annals–that’s with two ‘n’s!–of law with the ‘Twinkie Defense,’ claiming his behavior was based on a nutrient poor, chemical heavy diet), and in the way the weather crippling so much of North America seems to have settled in for the long-term (or at least through the 28th), making travel difficult and hampering the gathering at ‘home’ for many this season. In all quadrants we may see authority challenged and fighting back, Mother Nature simply relentless in her expression, and overall a pattern, unsettled and unsettling, of forces, both tangible and intangible, at odds.

Though the weather can be very tough to deal with, most difficult may be the upsets to the home front and the expression of sexuality, and to those things we find most sacred. The involvement of Vesta is very tense, symbolized by its spot at 29 degrees of Aries; this suggests that Self-assertion for everyone, and particularly for those who must exert some form of leadership, in Vesta’s arenas is under intense pressure. It feels as if one must act; so the question becomes, how?

Vesta is just past a trine to the Sun (when we became aware of the Vesta problem), and now heads toward trine with Mars and Pluto, and of course square to Jupiter. These aspects suggest that the freedom to act, to change the situation, to transform circumstances, is on the way; and there is also the idea that the social sphere may not support what you intend–but don’t let that bother you. With Vesta involved in your actions, there should be no reason to doubt the validity of your Self-assertion urges.

If your Vestal inclination will impact relationships, then you should be cognizant of the sesquiquadrate formed by Venus to Earth, as well as Venus’ conjunctions to Chiron and Neptune. This says relationships, and possibly financial situations, may need to be adjusted to accomodate actual circumstances, and that our relationships may feature hurt and fantasy, delusion, or inspiration out of proportion to the reality of things. Just knowing that our perceptions are not necessarily accurate in this area at this time will help us deal with what’s presented, and prevent jumping to conclusions.

And check out Monica Starr’s Astrology Mundo for several fun articles and links (and if you have an unnatural fear of snow globes, you’ll want to take a look!), as well as her predictions for 2009 http://astrologymundo.wordpress.com/