Goddess Vesta and Vestalia by Rachel S Roberts

“ . . . in her constant light, she sees everything.” Ovid speaking of Vesta, Fasti, Book 6, line 437

Who is Goddess Vesta?

Vesta was the eternal holy flame of Rome, a flame that symbolised that the city of Rome was thriving. As long as Vesta was present as the living flame, Rome would continue, and a huge investment was made to prevent the extinguishment of it. This flame, many Ancient Romans considered to be the same fire at the centre of the earth, and so Vesta was considered to also be the centre of the universe. Her cult is considered by many historians to predate Rome itself and to be a continuation of the oldest fire cults, where women were the sacred keepers of the flame. Vesta is one of the most venerated of deities in ancient Rome and was a Goddess connected to the kings of Rome and later the senate and emperors. She was also one-third of the Di Indigetes of Rome, the deities considered to be most concerned with the fortunes of Rome. They were Dea Roma, Romulus and Vesta. As such, she was a Goddess of national importance, connected to both the religious and secular governance and administration of Rome.

Her rank as one of the primary deities of Rome was also reflected in the form of her inclusion in ritual and ceremony. She was either the first deity invoked, to honour her as the fire at the beginning of time, or she was included at the end of a prayer in order to recognise her presence as the offering was given to her flames.

This idea was also translated into the home, with every domestic hearth flame considered to indicate the presence of Vesta. Vesta was an important household deity, present in everyday life and ritual and connected to the penates (the gods who watched over the storeroom). In the early days of Rome, Roman families would gather once a day, every day, to offer a sacrifice, such as wine, incense or a piece of cake, to Vesta at the household hearth. Many households also offered prayers to Vesta before the main meal of the day. On feast days and festivals, many households also observed the tradition of placing a garland of flowers next to the hearth in the morning before other rituals, ceremonies and celebrations were conducted.

Her Temple

Vesta had her temple in the central location of the Forum Romanum in Rome, at the base of Palatine Hill. It was round in shape, considered by some to be symbolic of the earth and the universe surrounding her flame, which burnt at its centre. It is also possible that this circular shape reflects the archaic nature of the temple, following the shape of the bronze and iron age round huts in which the earliest farming peoples of the land lived and worshipped. Vesta was not portrayed in human form within her temple like other Roman deities; her presence was the flame itself.

The temple was considered one of the holiest places in Rome, and no man was allowed to enter the temple, or it was believed the flame would die and Rome would fall.

The flame was rekindled every year on the 1^st March, a date considered by many ancient Romans to be the first day of the new agricultural and military year. The ritual of rekindling involved the rubbing together of two sticks, which was the only way in which the fire of Vesta could be re-lit.

The temple of Vesta was also the storehouse (penus) of sacred items used for ritual and ceremony throughout the religious year. Items such as the statues of the penates of the Roman people, the statue of Athena from Troy and the ashes used for the festival of Parilia. The storehouse was protected by the Vestals, who kept it shut except for their own presence and the visits of the pontifex maximus (head priest). All others were excluded from the storehouse with the exception of the 9th June, when on this one day of the year, married women were allowed to enter barefoot and carry simple offerings to the temple.

Her Priestesses – The Vestal Virgins

In ancient Rome, the flame of Vesta was kept and guarded by priestesses, known as the Vestal Virgins. The role of the Vestals paralleled the role of the women of the household, but on a national scale. Both tended to the central flame of the hearth, reflecting their charge of ensuring the good fortune and prosperity of the household or empire.

Rhea Silvia, the mother of the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, was thought to be a Vestal Virgin, and in the foundation story, she, as the daughter of the royal household, tends to the sacred flame in the central hearth. This element of the story is believed to be a remembrance of an older cult where the king’s daughters were the sacred fire keepers, tending to the flame of life and state. In legend in was Romulus who built the first temple to Vesta in Rome, in honour of his mother.

It is thought that there were originally two Vestal Virgins, which at some point in the kingly period increased to four. By the time of the Republic, there were six Vestal Virgins serving at one time, and they were the only full-time priestesses in ancient Rome, excluded from family life and marriage. They began at a young age, being personally selected by the Pontifex Maximus (Head priest) between the ages of six and ten. They were required to serve for a minimum of thirty years and were required to wear a particular holy dress, live in the sanctuary of Vesta and adhere to rules such as the preservation of their virginity. They also enjoyed exclusive privileges such as looking after sacred objects within their temple, and unlike other women of Roman society, they could own property, draft wills, give evidence without an oath and were able to intervene on behalf of someone in trouble, in some cases pardoning criminals they encountered by chance.

They made Mol Salsa, a ritual wafer which was used by the Vestal Virgins as an offering and in other important rituals of the Roman festival calendar (such as Lupercalia). It was made with water, wheat and salt; the water was to be sourced only from a particular holy spring and not to be set down between drawing and mixing with the wheat.

We are lucky enough to have many of the Vestals named in historical record, though sadly, for reasons of their punishment. In 90 BCE, we know that the chief Vestal, by the name of Cornelia, was buried alive for unchastity by the Emperor Domitian and in 113 and 114 BCE, the Vestal Virgins Aemilia, Licinia and Marcia were also all accused of being unchaste.

On May 14^th, the Vestal Virgins partook in a ritual throwing of Argei into the river Tiber. Argei were bundles of rushes shaped as humans that were bound hand and foot. The ritual was one of purification, and the Vestal virgins were the facilitators of this cleansing due to their pure status. Their purity enabled them to be the ones to rid the city of the evils of the year, which the argei symbolised (or were believed to literally contain).

Vestalia – The Festival of Vesta

Vestalia, the festival of Vesta, was held annually on the 9^th – 15^th June. The days of this festival were considered sacred to Vesta, and each saw their own rituals and ceremonies connected to the festival. For example, on the 7^th June, the inner sanctum of the temple of Vesta was open to women, and at this time, women could visit and make their own offerings in the temple itself. It remained open until the 15^th June, when the temple was again closed to the public and the vestals cleaned out the temple and swept out the storehouse. All debris and festival waste (sacred through its proximity to Vesta) was ritually removed via Capitoline Hill to be deposited in the sacred waters of the river Tiber.

The festival was also particularly celebrated by the millers and bakers of ancient Rome, for whom the flames of hearth and oven were of primary importance. They also considered Vesta one of their patron deities because the Vestals were responsible for making Mol Salsa, the ritual salted flour wafers that were used in several important archaic rituals of ancient Rome. During the festival, the millers and bakers would dress their millstones and working donkeys with flower garlands and small loaves of bread and would make special small cakes for feasting and offering.

Why and How to Connect with Vesta.

Vesta can support you in tending to the flame of relationships, home, projects, businesses and of your Self. Her flame is the beating heart of all things that exudes warmth, vitality, light, and needs to be tended with devotion, dedication and discipline to keep it healthy and strong. So, if you feel that your inner flame is running low or overburdened and your energy, drive, belief, or hope needs some support and reignition, then Vesta is a great guide for you. She reminds you that any fire needs kindling and fuel. Often the fuel that keeps things going, or that we draw on the most, is our well-being, strength and health, and overuse of these resources can leave us exhausted, resentful or detached. In order to prevent this, Vesta will invite you into sourcing and investing in that which keeps your fire going, that does not require you to self-sacrifice. Alone time, slow-down time and quiet time are her resources, and peace, calm and presence are her gifts.

You Can Connect to Her by:

Lighting a candle at the beginning or at the end of the day and spending a few moments in full presence or prayer. You may want to use a white or gold candle.

You may want to extend this into a candle gazing meditation and practice stillness – deepening your breath and breathing in and out with the flame until you feel a sense of calm or peace.

Creating a household altar or sacred space that is somewhere you will pass during the day and offers an opportunity to stop and breathe. Let it be a place where you count your blessings and give thanks for home, safety and warmth. It can also be your reminder to slow down. Stop on purpose as you pass, no matter what you are doing, and have something positive there, an affirmation, invocation, picture or flowers to pause and look at.

Approaching household tasks and chores not with resentment or hostility but as an opportunity to honour your home, to give thanks through cleaning for all that you do have and as an act of love and devotion. In this way, washing up or hoovering are not tasks but a contribution to making the home a healthier and happier place. Also, find ways to make household tasks just that, activities of the whole household. We avoid them often because we deem them to be boring, but they don’t have to be. Do them together as bonding activities and chances to talk and catch up. You can make them fun; popping bubbles while washing up (or chasing loved ones with those bubbles), hoovering can become a dance, cleaning can be accompanied by singing, and baking can be a chance to be artistic. Bring magic into the seemingly mundane so that home becomes a sanctuary, a retreat, a place of laughter and joy. Vesta will help you with ideas of ways to make this happen if you ask.

I hope tools and tips ideas inspire you and that you enjoy a nourishing connection to Goddess Vesta. May her flame burn strong within you! You can find out more about her and many of the gods, goddesses, rituals and festivals of ancient Rome in my book ‘Pantheon. The Romans’.