Tending The Inner Flame: February’s Portal With Vesta

Step into February through a quiet, luminous doorway.
This recording is a reflective journey through the month’s astrological currents — the Leo Full Moon, Saturn’s shift into Aries, the New Moon and Solar Eclipse in Aquarius, Saturn conjunct Neptune, and Mercury retrograde in Pisces.

Woven through these energies is the presence of Vesta, the Roman goddess of the sacred flame — known as Hestia in Greek mythology. Her story, her symbolism, and her devotion to the inner hearth guide this month’s themes of courage, discernment, and tending what is quietly forming within.

Together, we explore tarot, dreamwork, and the subtle inner flame that glows beneath the surface of your life. This is not a meditation to follow, but an invitation to listen, reflect, and notice what awakens in you.

Transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to Enchanted Whispers with Aveline Grove.

I am your host Aveline and this is a recording for February,

A month that asks us to tend the inner flame and we will be working with Vesta for this.

I want to begin by saying that this is not a guided meditation.

There is nothing for you to do,

No posture to hold,

No breath to control.

This is simply an invitation to be present with the words,

The images,

And the energies that I will be sharing with you that form the landscape of our month ahead.

Think of this as an opening,

A threshold into February's energy,

A portal into the month,

And a gentle descent into the subtle inner work that unfolds when we're simply willing to notice.

Today I'll be speaking about the astrological currents of February.

Vesta,

The goddess who is walking with us this month,

A tarot spread that I have drawn for the season,

And a little bit about dreamscapes and walking in between two worlds.

My hope is that these reflections resonate with your own inner flame,

The spark that glows within you when everything around you is quiet.

As we step into February,

I invite you to notice the underlying rhythm of the month,

Its whispers,

Its currents,

And the way it asks you to move.

February is a month of quiet courage,

Discernment,

And devotion.

It is not about doing more or being more visible,

It is about tending and forming,

Protecting what matters,

And giving yourself space to nurture that spark within.

We start February with a full moon in Leo on February 1st.

This is often called a snow moon,

And beautifully,

Coincidentally enough,

Where I am,

We are covered in snow,

And in North Carolina we're not often,

But we are this time of year,

And it is absolutely beautiful.

This moon illuminates the ember of who you are,

Your authentic expression,

Your creativity,

And the desire of the heart that may have been waiting patiently to be acknowledged.

Leo energy invites presence and not performance.

It asks that you shine your own light without needing to display it for others,

That you simply allow yourself to shine because you want to,

To honor the spark without rushing it outward.

Imagine this moonlight falling softly on your inner flame,

Warming it,

Revealing it,

Allowing it to begin to glow quietly.

The question this moon offers is simple and profound.

How can I nurture my creative spark without rushing it?

And no matter when you're listening to this,

I would say that that's a question we can usually ask ourselves.

What's forming?

What's asking to be nurtured?

And how can I do that and trust the process?

On February 13th,

Mid-month,

Saturn will move into Aries,

And this will begin to shift the tone of February's energy.

Saturn brings structure,

Discipline,

Presence,

And Aries brings more courage,

Initiation,

And personal fire.

Together,

They begin to strengthen that flame that you've been tending quietly beneath the surface.

And it strengthens not through force,

But through a quiet devotion.

This is a moment to return to your practices.

If you have,

Let them fall away.

Begin to notice your creativity,

Your inner work,

And return to it with a slow,

Steady pace.

Imagine Saturn as a steady hand around your flame,

Helping it withstand distraction,

Doubt,

Or being overwhelmed.

February,

In general,

Teaches us that courage is often quiet.

And here we have the courage to return again and again to what matters most.

And it's also a good time to ask yourself,

What is that for you?

On February 17th,

We have a new moon in Aquarius and a solar eclipse.

This is a threshold moment,

A doorway.

Aquarius invites in innovation,

Rebellion.

It asks us to let go of outdated patterns and step forward with courage to imagine what has never been considered before.

The eclipse energy here amplifies this.

It illuminates what is ready to emerge and dissolve,

What no longer serves,

So that you can grow fully into the next version of yourself.

This is not a moment for action,

But it is a moment for witnessing.

Some visions may appear fully formed,

And others may arrive only as fragments,

Sparks that perhaps need time,

Protection,

And more of that quiet attention.

Let this be a threshold to pause,

Breathe,

And a moment to observe what is shifting within you.

For myself,

When I was thinking of this new moon energy,

I was thinking of all the things that I've already started to let go of,

To let fall away.

One of them,

Coincidentally enough,

Is deleting a lot of pictures on my phone,

Screenshots that I've held onto,

Cleaning out my closet,

Donating a lot of things to charity around the house,

And even deleting my Facebook account.

I mean,

I've had that Facebook account since my son was born back in 2007,

And I realized that there are so many versions of me that were present on there,

And none of them feel real anymore.

So,

I hit delete,

And I let it go,

And I would say that is more of that new moon and Aquarius energy that we will all feel mid-February.

So,

If you do observe it,

Notice it,

Let go of what needs to let go,

And see what space that opens up so that something new can emerge.

Okay,

Moving on.

February 20th.

Saturn conjunct Neptune in Aries.

This is a deepening of these intuitive currents for the month.

Saturn brings more structure,

And Neptune offers dreams,

Intuition,

And the unseen.

Together,

They reveal what has been forming beneath the surface.

The subtle truths,

The quiet insights,

The whispers of your soul.

This alignment asks for discernment and trust.

Again,

We're not speaking in action,

But clarity and presence.

Imagine this energy as the soft light again forming around your sacred internal flame,

Illuminating what is there,

Pushing out what needs to be pushed out,

And revealing truth without urgency.

And then on February 26th,

Mercury goes retrograde in Pisces,

And this draws the attention inward even more.

This retrograde is gentle,

Dreamlike,

And intuitive,

And I know I keep referencing dreams,

But if you stick with me,

You'll see why that's showing up so clearly and vividly for me this month.

It invites reflection,

Review,

And reconnection.

It asks you to return to your inner sanctuary,

To the sparks that you have been tending all month,

To the insights that have resurfaced or perhaps surfaced for the first time,

To the dreams that have been speaking in symbols and fragments.

This is the time to refine,

To listen,

And to realign.

Imagine this retrograde as a tide pulling you inward,

Back towards that flame that you've been holding inside all month,

And back towards your own internal truth.

Okay,

So every month I try to find a goddess to walk with,

And I think try to find is probably the wrong phrase there.

It's more like I tune into the energies that have been showing up.

I listen to the quiet spaces in between,

And typically someone presents themselves very clearly as who wants to walk with me for the month.

This month that didn't happen,

And as I sat waiting on this goddess energy to step forward,

It usually comes forward in the sense of a dream or something that I've been working on quietly in my life behind the scenes,

And I feel this like presence around it.

Again,

I didn't feel that this time.

There was no dramatic arrival.

It was just quiet,

And in that quietness,

In that space,

I realized that it was Vesta who was waiting to emerge.

Vesta is also known as Hestia in Greek mythology,

And she is the goddess of the sacred flame,

The hearth,

The inner sanctuary,

The keeper of what is private,

Precious,

And alive beneath the surface.

As I read more about her,

I thought how perfect to work with her and walk with her this month.

In ancient Rome,

Her flame was tended by the vestal virgins.

They were priestesses devoted to maintaining a flame that symbolized the life and protection of the entire city.

This flame was never allowed to go out.

It was considered the heart of the community,

The center of spiritual life,

The source of continued wealth,

Abundance,

And protection,

Continuity,

So to speak.

Vesta's presence is not dramatic.

She does not demand attention.

She does not arrive with thunder or spectacle,

But she is that quiet warmth at the center of everything,

The flame that sustains,

Protects,

And illuminates from within.

Her mythology teaches that devotion is sacred.

It is that tending of the flame,

Whether through daily practice,

Creativity,

Reflection,

Inner work,

It can all be considered a holy act.

She reminds us that not all fires are meant to blaze outward and that some flames are meant to be nurtured privately until the time is right.

This is why she walks with us in February.

This is why I think that she was the one that quietly,

Unbeknownst to me,

Was showing up beside of me all along.

This full moon in Leo that we start the month with reveals that spark.

Then Saturn in Aries comes along to strengthen it,

That new moon and eclipse that are opening a new threshold.

Then Saturn and Neptune coming in to deepen that intuition and Mercury retrograde drawing us further in again.

Through all of this,

Vesta stands there,

Steady,

Patient,

And devoted,

Reminding us that the inner flame is sacred and tending it is enough.

So I always like to pull some cards for the energy of the month,

And this time I used the Lightseer's Tarot deck.

And I used each card as an invitation,

A reflection,

And a whisper into the energies of the month.

I pulled five cards and I pulled them with very clear intent.

So the first card was the Ember.

And the Ember was the Ace of Cups,

The spark already within you.

The Ace of Cups radiates overflowing emotional energy and creative potential.

And when I pulled this card,

The first thing I noticed was there was this glow,

Warmth,

And heart space expansion paired with water.

And I felt like that showed that the heart was open and an internal reservoir that was full of inspiration.

This is your inner flame of emotion and creative vitality waiting to be acknowledged.

Vesta,

Paired with this,

Asks you to tend this spark daily,

Even in the small ways,

A quiet meditation,

Writing from your dreams,

Or a simple act of self-nourishment.

You let it remain unhurried and unforced.

The fire that begins to grow strongest is the fire that is protected and recognized,

Not rushed.

A reflection prompt here,

If you're looking for some journal ideas,

Can be what small but sacred spark is alive in me right now,

Even if it is unseen by others.

And then the second card I pulled was the Three of Wands,

And that was for the hearth,

The space that needs tending.

And I thought the Three of Wands was beautiful here because it's a card with a woman standing facing out over the ocean and around her or three lit fire on like a stick.

I'm losing it here,

But it's like wands,

Three lit wands around,

And it's about observation mode.

It is the part of your life that requires patience,

Vision,

And steady cultivation.

There's a lot of sunlight and optimism that come in,

And it tells us that success begins with consistent attention.

I think as I looked at this card,

What came to me was how easy it is to tend the flame whenever it's inside and in a controlled environment.

But when we move out into the world and we expose ourselves to the wind and the elements,

It becomes a lot harder.

So Vesta reminds us that tending this hearth is about discipline,

Daily devotion,

And care,

Not about immediate results.

It's about protecting the space as you would a sacred flame so that you can watch it expand.

And a reflection prompt here,

Where does my energy need consistent care and devotion this month?

Card three was a threshold card,

And how beautiful that I pulled the second ace,

An ace of pentacles.

This was around opportunities,

Choices,

And openings.

The ace of pentacles I felt signaled the birth of a tangible opportunity,

Something grounded,

Practical,

And ripe for manifestation.

This card is literally full of golden light pouring over fertile land in this deck.

It suggests that your efforts now can lay the foundation for lasting growth,

That what you're doing isn't time wasted.

Even though you're not in action,

You're doing a lot of work behind the scenes.

This card aligns perfectly with that new moon that we will experience mid-month,

And the solar eclipse,

Showing that a new path is opening.

And Vesta encourages discernment here,

Reminding you that not every spark or idea deserves your energy,

And that you get to choose where you place your energy,

And choose what you will nurture faithfully,

And let the rest wait.

A reflection prompt,

What new path or vision is inviting me forward,

And which deserves my careful devotion?

Card number four,

The challenge,

Page of swords.

Now this page of swords is a woman walking on a tightrope on her tippy toes,

Holding above her basically what looks like balloons,

But they're light bulbs,

And they're lifting her,

Trying to lift her upward,

But she is staying grounded,

Barely,

On her tiptoes on the tightrope.

What may dim or scatter your flame?

To me,

This was all about curiosity,

Mental energy,

And sometimes scattered focus.

It was about how you stay grounded,

And how you keep your focus on where you're working towards in your devotion when the world is pulling you,

And sometimes your own mind is pulling you in so many different directions.

Vesta here to observe these challenges without panic.

You let the flame of intention stay steady,

And you release what isn't essential.

So sometimes we have to let things go so that we can stay on the path of our inner work,

And get to the results that we need in this moment,

And that doesn't mean let it go forever.

Maybe you do.

So I think about that girl walking on the tightrope,

Holding these light bulb balloons,

And if she would just release one,

Perhaps she could relax a little more.

So my prompt would be,

What patterns,

Distractions,

Or limiting thoughts may be dimming your flame,

Or what do you need to let go of to maintain a steady focus?

And then card number five,

The last card,

Is the offering,

The gift of tending your flame,

And it was the Queen of Cups.

Here she represents deep emotional wisdom,

Intuition,

And that nurturing energy.

Her luminous presence and calm,

Watery imagery here shows that by returning to the heart,

By cultivating your inner life,

Your creativity and self-awareness will nourish.

Vesta is here again to remind us that devotion now yields these rewards,

And when you tend that inner fire consistently,

It can grow into something enduring and fully your own.

So the reflection prompt would be,

What will grow if I protect,

Nurture,

And devote myself to my inner flame this month?

Now as I was thinking about this,

These cards,

Vesta,

The energy of it all,

I wanted to offer you a ritual,

Something simple that you could sit with,

That you could do and practice to help you tend your own inner flame.

And what came up for me is what I've been practicing in my own life for the past week or so,

And I've really enjoyed it,

And it's been very simple.

So at night before bed,

I place one hand on my heart and one hand on my journal,

And I close my eyes,

And I imagine this flame inside either my heart space or my solar plexus,

And I just breathe and I let it expand and contract on its own and with my breath,

And then I repeat these words out loud,

Sometimes in my head,

I keep the flame lit as I cross between worlds.

May what I need be carried back with me.

Let me see what I need to know,

And let me remember what I am shown.

And then I take a few more deep breaths,

I place my journal down beside my bed,

And the idea here is that as I enter the sleeping world,

I am inviting in any knowledge from that space that is ready to be carried back into this world.

And then when I wake up,

I take my journal and I write those intentions,

Those thoughts,

Those symbols,

Those ideas,

Those dreams,

Whatever it was that came back down in the journal.

Now a couple things,

I have started sleeping with some stones,

Some crystals under my pillow,

And I've done that for about a year now,

But I do take them out and I charge them and I change them out from time to time.

For this,

I would recommend moonstone,

Labradorite,

Or clear quartz.

You may also want a smoky quartz for like a protection if that speaks to you.

Black tourmaline is also good.

Sometimes for me and dreams,

I will dream of stones and I then go look for them in the waking world,

And I tend to keep those by my bed on a nightstand or in my pillow case.

One interesting thing that has been coming up,

And it's why I'm speaking so much about dreams and I'll talk about one a little more in detail,

Is that sometimes I don't remember them when I wake up,

But the next night as I lay down to go to sleep,

I will get flashes of things that I dreamed from the night before.

And when that happens,

I roll over and get my journal and jot it down because it never fails that I think,

Oh,

I'll remember that.

And then the next morning when I wake,

It's gone again.

So trust yourself and trust the timing when things come through and know that it doesn't have to look a certain way.

Sometimes,

A good bit of times,

I wake up and I know that I was having a dream and I just can't hold it.

And I used to get really frustrated with that because I wanted to be able to write it all down and remember.

And I've learned that sometimes it's not ready to be remembered and that's okay.

Lately,

In my dreams,

I have been visiting a city,

A dream city,

And I call it Zondor.

It is a threshold place,

A space between worlds.

It's not a story that I need to decode,

But rather it is a presence.

It is a landscape where I have found that creativity flows quietly,

Where symbols appear without explanation,

Where insights arrive in fragments.

I feel that I've been learning to live with the one eye in the waking world and one in my inner sanctuary dream world where I get to notice,

Listen,

And allow.

And this really came,

This idea of one eye in each world came in that space of laying down to sleep and remembering from a dream from the night before.

And it was literally that my left eye was seeing the things I had dreamed the night before.

And my right eye was still awake.

And just to presence here,

The right side of the body is the masculine sun side.

And the left side of the body is the feminine,

Liminal space,

Devotional moon side,

Mystery side of the world.

So it was very interesting to me anyway,

That the left was my dreaming side and the right was my,

I'm still awake side.

And I promise I didn't,

Obviously I didn't plan that.

And I'm not fabricating that here.

It just is what happened and how it showed up.

And so when it did,

I reached over and I grabbed my journal and I wrote it down,

Which I truly think is the only reason that I remembered it in such detail,

But it truly came to me as one eye in both worlds.

February to me mirrors that liminal energy.

It's a month that invites us to honor what appears in those dreams,

In the intuition and in the quiet spaces between thoughts.

But more than a liminal space and threshold,

It's about being there and witnessing it,

Not forcing it.

Thinking of it as Vesta's realm,

That inner hearth,

The quiet flame,

The sacred space where those insights get to grow slowly.

So I would ask that you focus this month on carrying the flame.

Take a moment here now to close your eyes and to feel your inner flame within.

Feel it slow and steady,

Warm and alive.

Notice how it expands with your breath.

Notice any colors associated with it.

Notice if it's a dim and needs some more attention and tending.

And allow that to be your focus for the month.

Notice if it's shining a little too bright,

You need to bring it in and tend it so that you can harness it within to mold and structure before you share more of it with the outside world.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and sigh it out.

I invite you to notice the currents of the month as we move through,

From the illumination of the full moon,

The structure of Saturn,

The threshold of the eclipse,

The intuition of Neptune,

And the reflection of Mercury retrograde.

Feel Vesta walking beside of you,

That keeper of the sacred flame,

Reminding you of that devotion,

Patience,

And quiet tending,

And how those are powerful acts.

The flame is steady,

Alive,

But most of all,

The flame is yours.

Carry it with you today,

Tonight,

And always into the month ahead.

As always,

If you have any questions,

Concerns,

Anything that shows up for you,

Please feel free to reach out.

I thank you so,

So much for joining,

And I can't wait to hear how February goes for you.

Blessed be,

Blessed be,

Blessed be.