Holy Days~Vestalia

Today begins the festival Vestalia, a time to honor Vesta, goddess of hearth and home.  According to the Encyclopedia Mythica, not much is known of her origins as a goddess other than her worship began in homes then spread out into the Roman city-states.   She is synonymous with the Greek Goddess Hestia, also goddess of hearth and home.

Vesta's temple, a circular building with a roof on top, housed the eternal flame at its center which was never allowed to go out by the attending priestesses, the famous Vestal Virgins.  In the home, offerings were made to Vesta in the hearth, the center cooking fire, at least once during the day if not at every meal. 

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During the Vestalia, priestesses made offerings of holy cakes in a ritually prescribed manner, made sacrifices to Vesta, cleaned their homes and opened the temple, the only time during the year, for women to offer sacrifices.

Since there are very few Goddess temples in our modern times, why not use Goddess Vesta's energy to honor your home?

Spruce up your surroundings doing something as simple as cleaning out a drawer you've been meaning to get to or bag up clothes and other donation items. It's all in the intention.

Make bread, offering the first slice to nature in honor of Vesta.

Invite friends and family over for a BBQ and offer some of your grilled fare
into the flames, asking Goddess' blessings upon you all.

Beautiful image of Vesta painted by the talented Thalia Took

This morning I pulled Goddess Vesta from my Goddess Guidance Oracle Cards.  I've been pondering a deeper meaning which I'll write about later in the day.