deeply for are unaware of how she feels and leave her alone. It is
also sad when someone who wants to be loved by a Hestia woman
is loved by her, but never knows so for sure. Her warmth seems
impersonal and detached as long as it is not expressed in words or
hugs, and may not be specifically directed toward the people she
loves. To grow beyond Hestia, a woman must learn to express her
feelings, so that people who are special to her can know it.
DEVALUATION OF HESTIA
Within a convent or the institution of marriage—when both existed
as lifetime commitments, there was a secure place for Hestia’s spirit
to thrive. But without the security and stability of lifetime institu-
tions, a Hestia woman may be at a decided disadvantage. She feels
herself to be like a turtle without a shell, expected to compete in a
rat race. By nature, Hestia is not a joiner or a social climber, isn’t
moved by political causes and lacks ambition. She isn’t out in the
world trying to put her mark on it, and doesn’t care to be. Thus she
is easily overlooked and devalued by achievers, do-gooders, and
social arbiters, who measure people by tangible standards and find
her lacking.
Devaluation has a negative effect on a Hestia woman’s self-esteem.
She may feel out of step, maladjusted, and incompetent if she adopts
the standards of others and applies them to herself.
WAYS TO GROW
A Hestia woman’s difficulties arise when she ventures out of the
sanctuary of home or temple to make her way in the world. As an
introverted person confronted with the faster, often competitive
pace of others, she will be out of place until she develops other as-
pects of her personality.
FASHIONING A SOCIALLY ADAPTABLE PERSONA
The word persona (which means “mask” in Latin) once referred
to the masks that were worn onstage to identify im-
Hestia: I Goddess of the Hearth and Temple, Wise Woman and