Color of the day is ash brown. A candle, rubbed with patchouli oil, should
be lit. Stone is moss agate that you
should carry in your pocket to help you with harmony. Today is Ash Wednesday and, of course, Hestia
is involved.
Ash Wednesday, for those of us who did not know before, is a holy reminder that we are human and mortal. We need to be in harmony with our spiritual essence. Catholics will begin their Lent by being smudged on the forehead with ashes, will fast for 40 days, that represent the 40 days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by the devil. Ash Wednesday is always 46 days before Easter Sunday. (Sundays are not counted.) Lent means “lengthen” and is a time of denial of desires while contemplating, in stillness and as silent as possible.
Ash Wednesday did not come into being until 1000 years after the resurrection. It took over from ancient custom of covering oneself with ashes in the Nordic cultures. It spread to Europe during the times of the Vikings. The ‘laying on of ashes’ was done on Wednesdays, Odin’s day, and one of Odin’s names is Ygg, the Nordic word for ash. It comes from the Vedic Indian term associated with Agni, the Indian Fire God. The word ‘Agni’ comes from a Latin word for fire. ‘Agni’, in English means ignite/ignition. In ancient times, in some cultures, fire was the ultimate way to be forgiven for wrong-doings. As well, ashes symbolized purifying blood of Shiva. Today, Catholics are to cease eating during the day, and to go without any luxuries.
When an early 19th century German explorer, Alexander von Humbolt, went to Mexico, he saw that there was a pagan ceremony where they covered themselves with ashes to honor the sun. In Egypt, there was a festival in honor of Osiris. Today, there is Mardi Gras which is a festival where the participants honor all kinds of enjoyable things before setting off to church. It is held on ‘Fat Tuesday”.
And in all this is Hestia, cloaked in ash brown, tending the fires for the ashes whether it is known by those who participate in Ash Wednesday or not. Today, we come into the kitchen, turn on the light, and should be turning on the fires on the stove to make mornings welcoming to our family. Perhaps, for those of us who are not connected to a religion, we could invite Hestia in and make the most of her evocation of harmony, of care, of protection for our family and our kin. We are Queens of the kitchen and the hearth and the home. It is up to us to create, to invite, harmony within those who are ours.
“Hestia, you who tend the holy house…with soft oil
dripping from your locks,
come now into this house, come, having one mind with… the all-wise:
draw
near, and withal bestow grace upon my song.“
~Homeric Hymn to Hestia
©Carol Desjarlais 2.22.23
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