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Quotes from Pagan Meditations by Ginette Paris

"Hestia is the center of the earth, the center of the home and our own personal center."

"Quarrels and fights could not develop in Hestia's presence, because the hearth was a place of peace and security."

"But I believe that a study of the Hestia archetype could enable us to understand why women had to leave home in order not to be depressed in it, for one must not stay in a house in which the fire has been extinguished. To know Hestia is also to understand that in a disquieting number of homes the central fire is dead."

"Here the values associated with home and family would be renewed, not under the impulsion of sexism which would return women to their frying pans, but from a shared desire to reinvest the center and to honor human relations through Hestia."

"As an aid in situating Hestia, we may ask ourselves the following question: when we are away from home, what image best represents our "place"? If there is a similar or compatible image for various members of the family, that is the center of the house."

"The archetype of Hestia, just as that of all the other Goddesses, is uninteresting if one only wishes to imitate the Greek. We have to use it as a focus for questioning ourselves, for creating images."

"Incessant changes in social roles, and in the physical and human environment, are contrary to the rootediness that Hestia proposes. The security that she may bring is related to stability, tradition, and the preservation of goods that sustain us when times are hard."

"Hestia waits for us "at home", where the stranger cannot penetrate and where the universal gesture of "closing the door" assures the intimacy of the family."

"Although it is true that change is important, Hestia is there to remind us that it is often important to stay the same."

"Just as symbolic, but at a more practical level, in almost all houses that are "alive" one may observe furniture and knick-knacks which have been kept because they constitute an unconscious cult of Hestia."

"I know of a few "Hestias" who resist marriage because they do not want to change homes, towns or jobs. They like their own place, and the idea of sharing their space, their house, and of having to change their place of work makes them extremely resistant to conjugality. No stranger may penetrate their 'interior'."

"To understand the importance of "Hestia of the Reserves", we must remember that the accumulation of reserves of food, wine, materials and tools was the foundation of wealth in the ancient domestic economy of the peasant."

"Hestia Tamia is honored in homes whose basement and attic, freezer and shelves, workshop and garage are full. There is, moreover, something wrong, and an empty, hostile feeling, when a house is full of people but lacks reserve supplies."

"Hestia therefore requires that, before inviting others to honor our table, accept our gifts, and enjoy our generosity, we must assure a wholesome internal economy and avoid living "above our means", in putting appearances above foresight."

MODERN THOUGHTS

Hestia and what she represents has always been important to me. As a child, our family moved around a lot. Even though we always had a "Hestia" type feel to the places we lived, moving all the time was a bit disconcerting. As soon as I moved away from home, I stayed in the same place for fifteen years.

Currently as a bachelor required to move from time-to-time for the company, I find it difficult to maintain a Hestia type home.

However, I continue to try. Even though the places and experiences are exciting, I have to have a secure place where I can be myself.

Other ways that I honor Hestia are: