Hestia – This Rest and Recharge Core Archetype Is Not Really Resting!
You’ve probably all read this one. I took this version directly from RNW Forum, and have no idea of who originally wrote it. (But if you know the first source, please let me know; I’ll give them full credit!)
I’M GOING TO BED…..Men vs Women
Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired, and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed”.
She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s lunches. Rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next morning.
She then put some wet clothes in the dryer, put a load of clothes into the washer, ironed a shirt and secured a loose button.
She picked up the game pieces left on the table, put the phone back on the charger and put the telephone book into the drawer.
She watered the plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry.
She yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She stopped by the desk, wrote a note to the teacher, counted out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a text book out from hiding under the chair.
She signed a birthday card for a friend, addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note for the grocery store… She put both near her purse.
Mom then washed her face with 3-in-1 cleanser, put on her night solution & age-fighting moisturizer, brushed and flossed her teeth, and filed her nails.
Dad called out, “I thought you were going to bed.”
“I’m on my way,” she said.
She put some water into the dog’s dish, then made sure the doors were locked and the patio light was on.
She looked in on each of the kids and turned out their bedside lamps and TV’s, hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks into the hamper, and had a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework.
In her own room, she set the alarm, laid out clothing for the next day, and straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to her 6 most important things to do list. She said her prayers, and visualized the accomplishment of her goals.
About that time, Dad turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular. “I’m going to bed.”
And he did… without another thought.
Hestia, Goddess of Hearth and Home, Maintains Order, Calm, Continuity
Hestia – Greek goddess of hearth and home.
Our Hestia is not our most emotional of archetypes. She’s not squishy. She’s not all about our Empress’s focus on the oxytocin-rush of cuddling and petting and warm connection. And she’s not about our Hathor’s craving for the good-feelings from the combination of a dopamine-high (pleasure-jolt) enhanced by oxytocin (the feel-good connection hormone).
But without our inner Hestia, our world falls apart.
And really, nothing diminishes a good love-rush like a mountain of minutia.
That’s why our Hestia is vital.
This is part of the reason, I suspect, that women handle being alone much better than men do. We not only have more consistent and more connected social circles (a strong and well-cultivated Empress), we have a strong inner Hestia.
The result?
Our lives – at the minutia level – run much more smoothly.
Which means that the big things have a chance for working out as well.
When we invoke our inner Hestia, we bring a calm and consistent orderliness into our lives.
As Julia Cameron states, in The Artist’s Way, one way to think of God is as Good Orderly Direction.
With our inner Hestia, we get the Good and the Orderly. Then, bringing in the overall life-direction builds on a happy foundation.
Today is February 1st, Candlemas Eve. This is the ancient Pagan Festival of Lights – the true beginning of the new year.
One ancient way to celebrate is to put a lit candle into each street-facing window, and let them burn throughout the night.
Tonight, why not have a simple meditation with a white candle?
Very simple and stripped-down. No fuss, no frills.
We’ll start tomorrow with adding in those things that make our life joyous and delightful.
But underneath it all, as we count our blessings (gratitude is our main spiritual discipline for winter), let’s also be thankful for our inner Hestia. She keeps our lives together, so we can experience delicious fulfillment, pleasure, and joy.
Next week: Why Hestia’s time is perfect just now!
More on Hestia
The Hestia archetype is one of the most popular among women, if my bloghits are any indication.
Why?
Not offering a super-scientific insight here, but my guess is that we’ve got this felt-level sense that Hestia represents something very important to us – that is perhaps not quite valued today the way it was in our parent’s (and earlier) generations.
Yours to decide. But check out these earlier posts:
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