Hestia, Goddess of the Hearth
I’m just waking up from my long Thanksgiving nap, wherein I gave myself permission to rest and not be productive for a week, other than plowing through The Hunger Games trilogy and cooking a homemade tofurky with all the requisite side dishes. I had planned to write this blog post on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but alas it is past and now I am ready.
Friday was the first day of the new moon (truly a black Friday), generally a good time for new beginnings. However, on Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, Mercury went into Retrograde (maybe that’s why I couldn’t get myself to the computer). It does seem like a Coyote-like predicament to start something on the new moon only to find that Mercury in Retrograde may throw it in reverse, much like one step forward, two steps back. Therefore, a good time to stand still: Do less, Be more.
That brings me to Hestia, goddess of the hearth and home. There is an old Greek saying, “Start with Hestia,” which means “Begin at the Beginning,” from the original fire, or first spark, and perhaps because she was the first of the Olympian goddesses to be born. In ancient Greece, when a woman moved into a new home, she lit the first fire in the hearth with fire from her mother’s hearth. No mistake that heart and hearth are almost the sam
e word.
Hestia is what we mean when we refer to ourselves or another as a “homebody.” I think I have a lot of Hestia myself. I love nesting and sticking close to the fire, be it in the kitchen or near the hearth. A working fireplace is a must for me in any home I’ve lived in. Hestia women get their energy from their home and family. They take that fire with them out into the world when they venture forth and need to return and revive themselves before they’re ready to set out again.
Hestia is not a lively one. She’s as steady as they come. She tends to stay close to home, tending the fire, which could be the creative fire of the writer, artist, gardener or cook, as well as housewife and stay-at-home mom.
In the ancient Greek templ
es, Hestia’s flame, considered the heart of the temple, was always lit. The priestesses tended and guarded it, making sure it never went out. There are very few images or statues of Hestia as she was thought to be faceless, and exist in the fire. We provide the face of Hestia by how we live our lives, stoke the flames, and keep the home fires burning.
As we approach the Christmas season, I wanted to share with you a wonderful gift idea for the goddesses in your life and that is a goddess rosary made by the luminous Jennifer Mantle. Jennifer’s rosaries are one-of-a-kind and she loves to do custom orders. That means you can work with her to choose the goddess pendant as well as the gems and beads that adorn it, depending on what kind of energy you are wishing to draw in. There are many more styles of rosaries and pendants available than are shown in her Etsy store, so just let her know what you have in mind and she will work with you.
Jennifer wrote her master’s thesis on “Reclaiming the Rosary in Her Name,” in which she maintains that “The mythology of the rosary is decidedly Marian,” that indicates a “recovery of the goddess” and a way to connect to our own divine feminine. This is reflected in the beauty of the feminine form of the goddess pendant and the roundness of the beads. These rosaries can be used like prayer beads or worn as necklaces or both! Here is the link to Adore Her Designs: http://www.AdoreHerDesigns.etsy.com/
snake goddess rosary with bloodstones
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Stephanie, I loved reading this, thanks for sharing it
xo
Karen