The Astrology of Anorexia

La Grande Bouffe

Vesta was the most widely worshipped deity in the Roman empire since every house had a shrine to her - the hearth itself. That is why I associate the asteroid named after her with cooks.

Back in January I wrote about Vesta in the charts of well-known cooks, pointing out that our very own Nigella Lawson has Vesta conjunct Venus. Her first book was called How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

So I discussed this at my local astrology group a while later and one of the members made a really interesting point - what about eating disorders?

How would that show? We did a quick check amongst ourselves and pulled up two charts to look at - and found something very interesting: two tight Chiron/Vesta contacts.

The most famous anorexic I can think of is Karen Carpenter - who starved herself to death. Her Vesta is combust (swallowed by the Sun) and squares a Chiron (wound) Ceres (food) conjunction.

Callista Flockhart has Vesta conjunct Chiron in Pisces opposite Uranus-Pluto-Mars (ouch). Interestingly it is also exactly conjunct her Part of Fortune - was her thinness her USP?

Victoria Beckham has a (wide) Chiron-Vesta opposition from Aries to Libra slashed vertically across her chart. Vesta in Libra is conjunct Pluto. She has married and made a home for a very rich man.

Another anorexic I know has Vesta conjunct Neptune. She is completely delusional about food and her body. It makes an exact (to the minute) trine to Chiron in Pisces.


Do you know where your Vesta is? And how do you feel about food?