This is the second part of my response to the Thirty Days of Devotion Challenge. (Here is the link to Part 1 of my response.)
XI. Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity
Hestia may not have had a festival, but there were Roman festivals in honor of Vesta. They occurred in March, April, and June.
Vesta's March festival involved the extinguishing and rekindling of the temple flame. At any other time of the year, extinguishing the flame or allowing it to go out was considered a bad omen.
Vesta's April festival was established by the Emperor Augustus (the man who pretty much founded the Roman Empire and was probably more interested in politics and power than in religion per se).
Vesta's summer festival was held from June 7 to June 15. It began with a water drawing ritual. The water was carried in narrow bottomed vessels so it would never touch the ground. (Remind you of anything?! Sukkot?) The inner sanctuary of the temple was opened, but only to Roman matrons, who entered barefoot. The six active priestesses made salt (from sea water?) and added it to grain harvested in May (harvests in May?), to create cakes that were used in all temple offerings in Rome (presumably just the city, not the empire).
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| Mickie Mueller |
The only time I've celebrated Hestia was last Samhain; I could not enter winter without her. A friend and I created a ritual about accepting the descent into darkness and working for the return to light. We included the different stories of Inanna and Persphone. Although it was a long ritual with many different sections, both of us felt it was essential to keep the section about home and Hestia.
The ritual included seven candles. The large one, representing Hestia, was lit first. Near the end, we each lit two candles to symbolize Hecate's torches, whereas earlier, we had each lit one very small candle to convince ourselves that we do carry some light with us even when we descend into darkness. We didn't speculate on what exactly that small flame was, but perhaps that was the candle that should have been designated Hestia's.
XII. Places associated with this deity and her worship
The hearth of every Greek home and temple was sacred to her, as was the hearth in the inner shrine at Apollo's temple in Delphi.
The most important place associated with Hestia is my home.
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| Vesta's Temple in the Forum Romanum |
When I visited patients for a hospital chaplaincy course, I found that I had to do two contradictory things: I had to open myself up completely to the person in front of me (Hestia's front doors) and also put up a wall around a part of myself (Hestia's hearth?) so that I didn't pay attention to how I felt about their situation or how I would react if I were experiencing it. The focus had to be entirely on the person in front of me, and what he or she was feeling.
Another place associated with her might be a well-tended fire. It has been years since I stared into a campfire or a hearth fire. I remember… it was magical.
XIII. What modern cultural issues are closest to this deity’s heart?
Hestia is not overly concerned with "cultural issues." Hestia does not put her trust in causes or in the people organizing them. A person with a cause doesn't see the human being in front of him because he is only interested in his cause or his own appearance of righteousness. An agenda can blind you to reality. Hestia just continues doing what it is her nature to do, helping in her very small corner of the world.
She escaped the family politics and incomprehensible games of Olympus by giving up her throne to Dionysus. Her followers have an inner path to follow, and even if they can't name it, its pull is strong. Hestia's focus is caring for the people right in front of her and keeping her own flame burning.
She honors Gaia, but her realm is the home and it is from there that she does her part to "save" the planet. (If the powers that be thought that they could use her, Vesta might preside over a civic hearth for planet Earth. However, a real civic hearth for the planet would have to be dedicated to… Demeter? Hera? What do you think?) Hestia is neither optimistic nor cynical about that possibility; she just keeps doing the work that she knows is hers.
Hestia's realm is small, but she isn't. Why should she abandon her home when eventually everyone will need to return home, to his or her most central focus? The spirit of home is enduring, but it must be tended in real places, especially in your heart.
Hestia refused anything that might limit her freedom. She empathized with women who weren't free to do what they wanted. At her altar, they could speak their truths; she never lectured them or told them that they could be free inwardly no matter their outer circumstance, but her presence was an opportunity for them to feel that freedom.
She has a preference for convents and homes, but under the right conditions an office might suit her. She helps her followers quietly, from within; when people venture from her hearth without knowing other gods, they are vulnerable. If they've always looked within for guidance, they won't be able to see danger (and no donkey will be there to save them). The world may pull them from their center and they may even loose the ability to return to Hestia's fire.
Hestia is a queen inside her home, a beggar outside of it. She is the most important god but she must have a guard and a guide in other realms.
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| Uncredited, contemporary art from pl.mitologia.wikia.com |
Home rituals once done by the people who named her haven't been practiced for millennia. Her altars were abandoned. Formal worship of Hestia must be recreated from scratch.
However, anyone who has attended her/his hearth while feeling Hestia's presence has worshiped in the same way as all her other devotees throughout time: with a combination of focus and detachment that is or that creates a different state of mind.
The same four words appear on several internet pages addressing Hestia: purity, sincerity, sanctity, and safety. It feels good to ascribe my sincerity to her, however I don't believe that safety is an attribute or gift of Hestia.
She thrives in a safe space, but she cannot make the space safe. Her presence is a blessing, but not a protection. Contemporary feminism and martial arts classes haven't changed her.
XV. Any mundane practices that are associated with this deity?
No, only magical practices:
- Spinning wool and grinding grain
- Cooking meals and washing clothes
- Storing food for winter
- Cleaning and sweeping
- Keeping the outdoors mostly outside the doors
- Tending the household altar
- Making guests welcome
- Nurturing their spirits
- Homemaking
XVI. How do you think this deity represents the values of their pantheon and cultural origins?
Presumably, a quiet woman who focused only on women's work was the cultural ideal in ancient Greece. What distinguished her among the Olympian deities? Perhaps it was her sacrifice for the sake of peace and her willingness to be alone.
XVII. How does this deity relate to other gods and other pantheons?
(UPG) She and Ganesha are close. Perhaps because his father beheaded him, Ganesha feels a kinship with Hestia who was swallowed by her father. Ganesha's mother, Parvati, created him to guard the doorway to her bath, so he may understand Hestia's need for a guard at her door. His many arms can do much while the rest of his body remains still, and that stillness in action is a quality shared by Hestia.
(UPG) Hestia and Thor are seldom companions, but when they work together there is harmony and understanding between them. Although he was considered a god of protection, Thor does not take the role of protector for Hestia. They share a connection with fire; his thunderbolts are preceded by lightning that may have been the source of fire for the earliest human hearths. To me, Thor and Hestia are gods of divination. We can hear Thor's messages in rolling thunder and we can feel Hestia's messages as a pull inside ourselves.
XVIII. How does this deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality? (historical and/or UPG)
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| Hestia and Demeter |
To most people, romance is a game, but Hestia does not know that, which makes her vulnerable. This game could distract Hestia from her center or even destroy it. Her center is a steady flame, but fire is easily extinguished. She is a powerful queen because she tends her fire and remains near it.
(UPG) Hestia bonds with female friends. Those friendships are deeply satisfying because caring for others means keeping her hearth warm and nurturing. She seems to do nothing, but her fire forges relationships.
There is an untold story of how Hestia silently cared for Demeter after Demeter's daughter was abducted by Hades. (Oops! I just made that up.)
Did Hestia find that flame inside herself when she was inside her father's stomach?
If so, was it her sole focus during her years in the dark?
XIX. What quality or qualities of this god do you most admire? What quality or qualities of them do you find the most troubling?
I admire her warmth and her welcoming manner. I admire her meditative focus and her ability to thrive when she's alone.
I like that she's not a fundamentalist's god. No one could define exactly what she stands for, so no one could ever tell you what you "must" do for her. The only way to worship Hestia is to listen to your own soul.
She discovered how to survive in her father's belly. She taught herself the means to keep her family placated. However, the written and unwritten rules of Olympian culture prevented her from thriving. Eventually she chose to live by her own light.
More than the other gods, she is aware of the need for community. That is why she is welcoming and why you can speak openly at her table. She needs her guests, too, but they may not realize that.
Many things trouble me about Hestia.
Her realm is safe, but it's limited. Other gods have a core of strength that remains with them wherever they go. Hestia must tend her hearth fire because her core could be easily extinguished. Other gods have accomplishments that are measurable and significant. Hestia's realm is considered mundane; it is unappreciated by most.
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| William Henry Snyder |
For Hestia to function away from the hearth, she would have to put on a mask and function in ways alien to her. Right brain thinking can't express who she is, so by engaging in that kind of thinking, she would forget her own value. Hestia would have to lose herself to succeed outside her home. She would not survive for long without her steady, inner flame.
We don't know much about Hestia. Does she know herself? She relinquished her place on Olympus to Dionysus. Did she consciously choose to do that because she knew she wanted something else or did she ignore her needs solely to avoid conflict?
Hestia renounced marriage. Did she do so to protect her flame? She falls into the flow of homemaking and so she would also fall into the powerful flow of love more deeply and with more abandon than others do. If her partner weren’t committed to her and her flame, her misplaced love and loyalty would throw Hestia far from her center.
I wonder, though. When Hestia renounced marriage, did she know with certainty that there was no god who could have been a companion to her? Was there no one who wanted to sit by her fire?
However, Hestia does set an important example. She is sensible enough to be herself, no matter how many people (or gods) prefer spunky gals.
I think I relate to Hestia because we seem to share something. She is much more than the following description, but she would understand me.
ISFJs, or "Protector Guardians," are most concerned with taking care of people by keeping them safe and secure. They are modest caretakers who do not demand credit or thanks for their efforts. But while they are essentially compassionate—and in fact exercise more patience in dealing with people with disabilities than perhaps any other type—their reluctance to open up to strangers can lead others to misread them as standoffish. Only among friends and family may this quiet type feel comfortable speaking freely. ISFJs are serious people with a strong work ethic, not inclined to self-indulgence. They believe in being meticulous and thrifty. They work well alone. While they may enjoy taking care of others, they do not enjoy giving orders. - Wikipedia
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Thanks to Rhyd for introducing me to the Thirty Days of Devotion Challenge. Here are links to his posts:
Arianrhod, questions 1, 2, & 3
Arianhrod, questions 4 & 5
Arianrhod, questions 6, 7, & 9
Arianrhod, questions 10 & 11
Arianrhod, questions 12 & 13
Arianrhod, questions 17, 18, & 19
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