| This study explores the Greek deities Hestia, Hekate, and Hermes, examines interconnections among them, and considers how their varied archetypal qualities manifest in the life and times of a woman approaching her mid-seventies.; Hestia, goddess of hearth and home, is stable, orderly, and self-possessed, with a propensity for silence and solitude. She represents the dependable homemaker who attends to family history, values, and rituals, and serves as manager of household activities and provisions. Hestia's essence is the hearth-fire, symbolized by the circle with its attributes of harmony, integration, and wholeness.; Elusive and enigmatic, Hekate was, in archaic times, a powerful and humane goddess known for her generous and nurturing nature, but who later became feared and reviled due to her association with the restless dead who inhabit the chaotic liminalitv of the three-way crossroads. Known as the crone aspect of the triple goddess, Hekate has links to magic, madness, and witchcraft.; Hermes is quick-witted, clever, and inventive; he is a communicator who charms, tricks, and seduces. He is a mover and a shaker, a thief and a liar, a journeyer and messenger of the gods. As a deity of the night he has ties to dreams and the underworld, and as god of lucky coincidences he is the connection that allows for synchronicities. In their relationships, Hermes stands in contrast to Hestia: she is inward, principled, and stationary; he is gregarious, deceitful, and mobile. With Hekate he shares similarities: both are magicians, are associated with darkness, are guides of souls, and are involved in transitions. Hestia and Hekate, though disparate in their functions, have strong ties to women and the home; Hestia is the reliable housekeeper, and Hekate is the guardian who sees family members through life's passages from birth to death.; Hestia symbolizes the constancy of domestic life; Hekate represents the complexity that exists within the dynamic conditions of transition; and Hermes exemplifies a youthful vitality that enhances change. Each embodies archetypal patterns that can inform and inspire the inward journey, especially in facing the particular challenges of our time and culture. |
