and this satisfaction indirectly supports the activities of the other.
He appreciates not having to concern himself with the home front,
because she takes care of it very well, isn’t doing it for him, and al-
ways provides a warm and peaceful home for him between his forays
into the world. He likes her combination of homebody and independ-
ent spirit.
She, in turn, appreciates the autonomy to decide how their home
will be and likes the economic support that allows her the time and
space to do whatever matters to her. Also, a Hermes husband is by
nature always on the move, creating new proposals, making deals,
trying new avenues, trusting his own acumen and instincts—and
in general relying mostly on himself in the world. He doesn’t need
or want a Hera or Athena wife to help provide either an image or a
strategy. Thus, he often doesn’t expect his wife to come along on
business trips or to endure cocktail parties, which suits his Hestia
wife quite well.
She prefers to entertain at home, where she provides the atmos-
phere, prepares the house for company, makes the food, and stays
in the background—while her more extraverted husband may take
the conversational lead and relate to their guests directly. Her hours
of work spent in preparation may be taken for granted, and the value
of her contribution to the pleasantness of an evening may remain
unappreciated. Like the goddess, it seems to be a Hestia woman’s
lot to remain anonymous, although she is central.
CHILDREN
A Hestia woman can be an excellent mother, especially if she has
some Demeter in her psyche as well. She can be a little too detached
when she goes inward, and her love may be a shade too impersonal
and undemonstrative. But usually she attends to children with loving
and accepting attention. She doesn’t have great ambitions for her
children and thus she allows them to be themselves. She takes good
care of them as a matter of course, and provides a home ambience
that is warm and secure. Hestia’s children do not have to break away
or rebel. As adults in therapy, they do not have major mother prob-
lems to work through.
Goddesses in Everywoman