position of an honored elder. She stayed above or out of the intrigues
and rivalries of her relatives and avoided being caught up in the
passions of the moment. When this archetype is present in a woman,
events don’t have the same impact on her as on other people.
With Hestia as an inner presence, a woman is not “attached” to
people, outcomes, possessions, prestige, or power. She feels whole
as she is. Her ego isn’t on the line. Because her identity isn’t import-
ant, it is not tied to external circumstance. Thus she does not become
elated or devastated by whatever happens. She has
The inner freedom from the practical desire,
The release from action and suffering, release from the inner
And the outer compulsion, yet surrounded
By a grace of sense, a white light still and moving.
T. S. Eliot, The Four Quartets^4
Hestia’s detachment gives this archetype a “wise woman” quality.
She is like an elder who has seen it all, and has come through with
her spirit undampened and her character tempered by experience.
The goddess Hestia was honored in the temples of all the other
gods. When Hestia shares the “temple” (or personality) with other
deities/archetypes, she provides her wise perspective on their aims
and purpose. Thus a Hera woman, who reacts with pain at discov-
ering her mate’s infidelity, is not as vulnerable if she also has Hestia
as an archetype. The excesses of all the other archetypes are ameli-
orated by Hestia’s wise counsel, a felt presence that conveys a truth,
or offers spiritual insight.
THE SELF INNER CENTEREDNESS
, SPIRITUAL ILLUMINATION, AND MEANING
Hestia is an archetype of inner centeredness. She is “the still point”
that gives meaning to activity, the inner reference point that allows
a woman to be grounded in the midst of outer chaos, disorder, or
ordinary, everyday bustle. With Hestia in her personality, a woman’s
life has meaning.
Hestia: I Goddess of the Hearth and Temple, Wise Woman and