CULTIVATING HESTIA
Hestia can be found in the quiet solitude and sense of order that
comes from doing “contemplative housekeeping.” In this mode, the
woman can be totally absorbed in each task, unhurried in doing it,
with time to enjoy the resulting harmony. Even the most un-Hestian
housekeeper can usually recollect times in which she was governed
by this archetype. For example, a day taken to clean out a closet may
involve discarding and keeping clothes, remembering and anticip-
ating events, sorting both belongings and self. In the end, the
housekeeper has an orderly closet that reflects who she is, and a day
spent well. Or a woman may experience Hestia in the pleasure and
satisfaction of going through old photographs, sorting, labeling, and
putting them in an album.
Women who are not Hestia women can decide to spend time
“with Hestia”—the inward, quiet, centered part of themselves. To
do so, they must make the time and find the space—especially if
they are other-directed women, whose lives overflow with activity
and relationships, who both pride themselves on and complain about
the fact that they “never have a moment’s peace.”
Inviting Hestia to be part of everyday housekeeping when she is
not usually present begins with the intent to shift to a Hestian atti-
tude. After deciding on a task, the woman must provide ample time
for it. For example, folding laundry is a repetitious chore for many
women who hurry through the task feeling hassled. Adopting Hes-
tia’s mode, a woman might welcome the opportunity to fold clothes,
as a time to quiet her mind. For Hestia to be present, a woman needs
to focus on one task at a time, one area or one room at a time,
whatever feels easily manageable in the time available. She must
become as absorbed in doing the task as if she were performing the
Japanese tea ceremony, with a sense of serenity in each movement.
Only then will a pervasive inner quiet replace the ordinary chatter
of the mind. The standards to be met need to be the woman’s own,
the way it is done in accordance with what makes sense to her. In
this she is a virgin goddess, not servant to another’s needs or
standards, nor oppressed by the clock.
Meditation activates and strengthens this introverted, in-
Goddesses in Everywoman