Goddess of the Week: Hestia

Goddess of the Week: Hestia

 

I haven't picked a god or goddess of the week for a while, but a reader recently emailing me to ask about kitchen goddesses and that is a good reason to find one.

In Greek mythology, Hestia is the goddess of the home, the hearth the family and cooking. She is the ideal choice as my goddess of the week.

According to the website Pagan Magic:

"In Greek mythology Hestia, daughter of Cronus and Rhea is the virgin goddess of the hearth. The hearth fire of a Greek or a Roman household was not allowed to go out, unless it was ritually extinguished and ritually renewed, accompanied by impressive rituals of completion, purification and renewal.

"As the goddess of the family hearth she also presided over the cooking of bread and the preparation of the family meal. Hestia was also the goddess of the sacrificial flame and received a share of every sacrifice to the gods. The cooking of the communal feast of sacrificial meat was naturally a part of her domain."

We don't tend to have open fires for cooking in modern kitchens, but the ever-burning pilot light of the boiler that keeps our home warm and heats our water is something like a perpetual flame and I could imagine Hestia approving of our practical yet comfy 21st century kitchens.

If you have just had a lovely new kitchen installed - or spruced up your old one - Hestia would be an appropriate goddess to honour.

Suggestions for things to do to honour Hestia and to ask for her protection for your kitchen and home could include:

• Thoroughly spring clean and declutter your kitchen, and get your boiler serviced if it needs it
• Say a few words asking for Hestia's blessing and protection for your home when you relight your oven after thoroughly cleaning it, or light the pilot light of a boiler that is new or just been serviced
• Anoint a candle with a little vanilla oil and light it to honour Hestia, asking for her blessing
• Bake bread from scratch and say a few words of thanks to Hestia while sharing it with your family

Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hestia