I’ve been hyperfixated on Proto-Indo-European lately so it was very exciting for me to learn that Hestia likely gets her name from the PIE root *wes meaning to burn, which in turn may come from *h₂wes meaning to dwell, live, reside, stay, spend the night. While it's generally agreed that Hestia and Vesta are deities unique to Mediterranean Europe, this is possible evidence for hearth cult reverence dating back to the Neolithic period. It's theorized that early forms of temples were places with central hearths. Hestia is typically viewed as a goddess over the hearth of the home and family, but this connects her to being a symbol of society and community as well.
It's beautiful to think that Hestia has been with us since the dawn of humanity. I wonder if there was a root or origin somewhere in a Proto-World language that's been lost to us.
Sources
Watkins, C. (1985). "wes-", in: The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.
Mallory, J. P.; Adams, D. Q. (2006). The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World. OUP Oxford. p. 220. ISBN 978-0-19-928791-8.
Burkert, W. (1985). Greek Religion. Harvard University Press
West, M. L. (2007). Indo-European Poetry and Myth. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-928075-9.
🍏 Samhain is the witch’s new year! What better way to kick off the new year than by giving your home a fresh new start with this cleanse?
🍏 Pick and choose your ingredients: cloves, cinnamon sticks, vanilla extract, ground nutmeg, granny smith apple slices, orange peel, bay leaves (write intentions on them), pumpkin seeds, allspice, star anise
🍏 Start with about 6 cups of water (depending on size of pot) and replace water and ingredients as it evaporates for as long as you want to keep the simmer pot going*
🍏 Cast a cleansing spell/prayer to Hestia. Let the rising vapors be an offering to Her. Ask Her to help you cleanse your home and usher in prosperity, good health, etc. for the new year.
Mini ritual ideas
🎃 Carve or paint a pumpkin and charge it to protect your home. Place it by a door to guard your home.
🎃 Charm candy with good luck intentions and blessings from Hestia to pass out to trick or treaters.
🎃 Host a bonfire with loved ones and roast marshmallows in honor of Hestia (make sure to leave the first and last one as an offering!)
🎃 Use a cinnamon broom (or make a cinnamon floor sweep - please use caution if you have pets or crawling babies!) sweep/mop in a clockwise direction three times while praying: “Hestia of hearth and home, bless this space we call our own. Let this home be trouble free, dearest Hestia make it be!”
🎃 Make a seasonal beverage (like this, this, or this) and share it with Hestia. Take note of what correspondences you want and play around with ingredients*
🎃 Bake soul cakes and make it a ritual! Invoke Hestia, charm ingredients with intentions, charm your oven and utensils, and offer a soul cake to Hestia.
🎃 Make an altar or spell jar dedicated to Hestia. Ingredients could include soil, pumpkin seeds, autumn leaves, acorns, pine needles, cinnamon, black salt, sage, dried berries, black candle wax.
Host a feast for your friends & family
🥧 Leave a plate of offerings for Hestia and your ancestors + loved ones in the afterlife.
🥧 Make it a traditional silent supper, or go around the table and share stories and memories of your late loved ones (that’s my preference! i want my ancestor guests to hear how much i love them - it keeps their memory alive! Plus it feels more like Hestia to me.)
🥧 Make it a potluck! Some ideas for food:
Colcannon - traditional Samhain meal from Ireland. Represents the harvest and the gifts of the Earth.
Soul cakes - see above.
Apple pie or apple cookies
Pumpkin pie or pumpkin muffins
Harvest salad - to honor and give gratitude for any abundance of the year
Wild rice soup
Paprika chicken - a recipe based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula and feels seasonally appropriate to me!
*As always - remember to practice kitchen safety!*
You are welcome to modify, add, or subtract anything you see fit. These are all just suggestions! May Hestia bless you as we enter the new year!
Prayer for Kitchen Tools*
Hestia, bless these tools that they may guide me in making food that is good for the mind, body, and soul.
Prayer for the Stove
I pray you bless the warmth and food made here. Though the flame be a mere representation of your hearth light, your presence is felt here. May you accept the sweet scents and rising vapors as an offering, Beloved Hestia, and may you bless the stove that feeds us.
Prayers Before Eating** (can use just one for short or all together for a longer prayer)
I set a place at my table for the gods, and invite you, glorious Hestia, to join us. My home and heart are open to you. As we eat, may we feel nourished by your love.
From farm to table, this meal was the work of many hands, may gratitude reach them all. Hestia, we offer you a share. May you accept this gift and may you grant blessings upon our hearth.
Beloved Hestia may you watch over us and bless us as we eat. Bless this food, this bounty of Earth, we thank you.
Prayer For Cleaning Up*** (light a candle when using)
Hestia, bless this little kitchen. I love its every nook. And bless me as I do my work, wash pots and pans, and cook. May the soap cleanse our dishes so we may start anew, as we honor you again with every meal and brew.
*Adapted from Rachael Henderson in “The Scent of Lemon and Rosemary: Working Domestic Magick with Hestia”
this is all i have to offer you, my Goddess. Goddess of the Hearth, i thank and praise you for the blessing of a new home. Your grace led my family to a home in desperate need of repair and TLC. while we work tirelessly to get this home into a condition worthy of You, i humbly offer you this token of everything i wish i could give You. everything i vow to repay you with someday.
