Hibernation
Today marks the beginning of the snow moon. The world is wrapped in a blanket and so are we.It may or may not actually be snowing where you are, but if you are in Texas like most of us it is at least very cold. A perfect time to cozy up inside and tend your hearth fires. While the world around us is screaming with a million things to do, new year's resolutions and all the brokenness that needs fixing, it's also a good time to come home to yourself.
Hestia is the Greek goddess of the hearth. As one of the twelve Olympians born to the titans Kronos and Rhea, these were eaten by their father, and the son Zeus made him spit them back out. As the first to be swallowed and the last to be spat out, Hestia is called both the oldest and the youngest, and so is represented both as a young girl and an old woman. She is timeless and ageless. She tends the fire, makes the bread, and keeps a pot of soup or tea always ready for whomever may come to call. Poseidon and Apollo both wanted her to be their wife, but Hestia refused and Zeus granted her permission to stay a maiden, so instead of caring only for her own family she cares for all of the families. As she presides over the home fire she oversees all burnt sacrifices as well, and receives a portion of them for herself.
I tend to be an adventurer. I never want to sit still and keep watch, but there is something immovable and solid about Hestia that I love. It feels like she keeps a warm center at the heart of a person wherever they may roam. That little home you carry around. The things that never change, that make you who you are. I've been seeing lots of markers along my way. Even when I am moving onto seemingly new places, I see familiar landmarks along the way, part of me has been here before, something in me has been making a way ready for when I needed it.
If weather and continuing social distancing keep you home a lot this month take advantage of the opportunity to cultivate a safe place to return to from everywhere life takes you. If you are staying busy in spite of the cold remember to feed that warm fire in your core to remind you of who you are wherever you go.