Changes

I've struggled with writing this post for a while now. I'd write long, detailed paragraphs, delete them, write something simple, be unhappy with it, and never really got anywhere. Much of what I considered writing about is really too personal for me to put out there right now. I'm also still processing a lot of it. I thought writing it out would help that process, and in some respects it did, but I think most of it is best left to a private journal.

I will say that the last eight months have been a long journey. I think I vastly misunderstood a message from Westya at the beginning of all of this. There were a lot of disconnects, many twists and turns, struggles to sort through information, symbols, and so on, and it was rough. Then in the end, there was Hestia. That answered many questions, but of course created more. I am still working through most of those.

The two are of course fairly similar in many ways, one being a reconstructed predecessor of the other, but they also have their differences as well. The big picture of my hearth practice is still the same, but the details have changed.

A is for Altar

The dictionary defines an altar as an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform, at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc., which sums it up fairly well.

While specific traditions may have certain requirements of how an altar should be set up, generally speaking altars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and can serve many different functions. They can be outdoors or indoors, in any room of the house (yes, even a bathroom might house a small purification altar, or an altar devoted to water in the shower). Altars can be big, small, formal, informal, hold only a few items, or be covered in things, they can be obviously altars, or quietly fit into their surroundings. The altar may be kept in a busy spot in the home, where it will be seen often and always be bringing your faith to the front of your mind. Or it can be kept in a more quiet location, for privacy, or to keep it from being bumped, touched, or whatever else. An altar can be out in the open, or kept in a small cuppboard. It can be a permanent altar, or one that is only set up when needed. An altar can change with the seasons, can be devoted to a deity, a place to honor ancestors or spirits, a place to do ritual workings, a place to meditate, make offerings - many will be a mix of a few things.

Basically, what I'm saying is, what an altar is? That's up to you. You may choose to not even have one, and that's fine too if that's what works for you. Personally though, I keep a few different altars in my home...

Artemis' (indoor) altar is fairly clean and simple. A statue of her, two tall tea light holders, and two small offering bowls. Usually one for food, and one for liquid, but occasionally I will put some salt into one of the bowls and use it to burn an offering of incense. Sometimes the altar is decorated with flowers, evergreens, or other plants, but most of the time it's just as it's shown. This altar is in the living room.


Then there's the hearth altar, kept in a corner of my kitchen. The top section is devoted to Westya, a hearth goddess. The candle's flame represents her, a symbol of the hearth fire. The candle sits in a small bowl that has some non-perishable offerings in it. Those offerings get changed each new moon, and are usually related to the season. Ground corn around Lammas, or pumpkin seeds at Samhain, for example. The two little plates are more offering bowls, for the daily devotion done at this altar. In front is a smooth flat stone, to be used in spirit-flight rituals as a hearth stone, a stone to help one come back from journeying.

Below that is not really an altar, but more of a little working space of odds and ends. Mortar and pestle, candle snuffer, shell filled with bits (such as a piece of sea glass, a penny, a key...), bowl of bits (such as birch bark, dog hair, a feather...), blessed candles, ritual oil holder, salve holder, a charm of berries, some stones... This space changes often.

Then on the next down is the ancestor's altar. A statue of Yinepu (Anubis), a deity of the dead. Many of my ancestor items are currently packed away from when I re-arranged my altars, I need to get them back out sometime... Meanwhile, the main points of the altar are two offering bowls for the ancestors, and one for Yinepu. (Below that are two more shelves, storage areas.)

Next to this altar is a cabinet where I keep my tools and some supplies, like candles, incense, oils, and the like. Some people like to keep their tools on their altars, but since these areas are rather small, I keep them safely in the cabinet when not in use.

Finally, there's the newest of the bunch. Just set up a few days ago, actually. Hidden away in the corner for a bit of private space, low to the ground so I can sit in front of it. Just a little working place, a place to meditate, do shamanic work, small rituals, and so on. To the left of the altar is a sistrum (a sort of rattle), on the top is a little wooden frog noise maker, incense, a beeswax candle with some moonstones and a sunstone - all for Artemis, then a few different objects for the elements.

The row below that is still a bit empty, but on the left is a box of small ogham staves, in the center I'm working on a space to honor my spirit helpers, and to the right is where I'm currently keeping my wildwood cards (and where I will likely keep a small area for my 'weekly' card study). Below is just some storage right now, a journal, a shawl, and a box of supplies. I plan to be doing the bulk of my indoor work at the newest altar, so I am excited to see how it will grow and change as time goes on.

Beyond the altars shown here, I also maintain a few outdoor altars (yes, I really like altars...), but I think I've rambled on long enough for now, so those are probably best left to another upcoming project post. 

(Altars are also the prompt of the week over at Pagan Prompts.)

Winter Wednesday

I keep meaning to make a little time to sit down and get some real writing done, but it seems like there are so many things to be done and so little time to do them all in...

The last couple days have been spent doing a deep clean and organization of the kitchen. Westya's shrine has been kept dark while all of this chaos is going on. At the end of this (tomorrow afternoon, I'm hoping) I have a new candle to dedicate for Her.

I've also been trying to take advantage of this mild weather we've been having, getting out before the snow sets in. Well... assuming it does to any considerable degree. Guess I'm still having flash backs to last year, foot after foot just piling up. This year is apparently going to be warmer, and not so bad - and so far, that's been true. I believe the news said every day in December was above average, except for two or three days. Still, mid to late January through February is when we usually see our cold and snow...

Why Westya?

It's a question I've seen pop up a few times over the last week or so. Only once did someone ask me directly, but it's a question I've seen implied to others - or in general - why worship a very obscure Deity, a Deity with very little surviving information?

It's a good question. There are many Gods and Goddesses from ancient times that we have plenty of surviving information about... titles, attributes, prayers, rituals, special days, symbols and more. Artemis (who I am also devoted to) could be counted among these Deities, entire books have been written about Her from surviving information. So why worship a Deity who we know significantly less about? A Goddess, in this case, without surviving myths, prayers, or even a surviving name.

I'll be the first to admit, it can be quite frustrating at times. I have worshiped little known Deities in the past, the Egyptian Shu for example, but this is my first time working with so very little. So why do I do it?

In short, I did try to connect with the more well known hearth Deities in the past, but it never seemed quite right. However, there was something about Westya that called to me. That alone made it worth perusing for me. That hard to describe something still remains, so, I continue with the relationship. I also think that just because there is little surviving information, that does not mean these Deities should be set aside and further forgotten, that these Deities are worthless.

First, let me be clear, I'm not attempting to reconstruct Proto-Indo-European (PIE) religion by any means. My reconstruction days are long behind me. Still, I do make use of what scholarly materials I can, I believe this is an important source even for non-reconstructionists. In this case, a lot of that material comes not directly from the PIEs, but by finding the common elements in the descendant groups. Due to this, I do find myself branching out to study the hearth Deities of the descendant groups. While it's not direct information, it's at least something to go from.

Obviously I also deal with a lot of unverified personal gnosis (UPG). Some frown on this, but I see nothing wrong with it so long as it's never presented as anything else. Too often I see UPG being presented as historical fact, or some sort of universal truth that everyone should agree with. It's not. the unverified and personal parts of UPG should not be forgotten.

This is the first time I've ever really had to do that. To really just be forced to jump right in. Usually there is a ton of studying history before such actions, perhaps too much at times. Some would say it's easier to skip that and rely on UPG, that it's the lazy way... so let me be clear, this is not the way I prefer. It has been hard for me, and it is very different than what I've become accustomed to - but it is necessary for those very reasons. It's important to work on our weaknesses. 

I do this because it has been beneficial to me, it has helped me grow, learn, and pushed me into areas I've never been in before. It has given me new experiences, and revealed skills I I didn't fully realize that I had. These Deities still have lessons to teach, these Deities are still worthy of our respect and adoration. I am thankful to Westya for what She has given me, and it is a relationship I will continue to strengthen... even if it's not always the easiest way for me. No relationship worth having is always going to be easy.

Welcoming the Lady of the Hearth - Part Two

Continuing from my last post...

Deciding that I wanted to get to know this Lady, I set out to create a ritual to preform in Her honor each evening. The first thing that had to be done was preparing the space to be welcoming to the Goddess. This involved a deep cleaning of the kitchen (where Her shrine would be kept), the kind of clean I would do when expecting a visit from guests, which seemed fitting for this Lady. Which lead to the next thing to consider, what ritual purification would I preform on myself? In the end I found it most fitting to do a simple hand washing at the sink - exactly as I would do before preparing a meal for family. (This might make more sense later in the post.)

The space was ready, I was ready, it was time to set up the shrine. Two white bowls on each side for offerings, and a pillar candle holder in the center. I put a mixture of the herbs and spices I use most often in the candle holder - salt, pepper, basil, oregano, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, red pepper, garlic, lavender, and a bit of cornmeal - to act as a perpetual offerings of sorts. (They'll be changed out each month with a special prayer.)

Then it was time to prepare the candle that would act as the Lamp of Westya. Quite simple, really. I took a bit of good olive oil from the same bottle I cook with, and anointed the candle while saying "Be pure, Lamp of Westya. Be sacred, Lamp of Westya."

(As a note, from here on all prayers were written by Ceisiwr Serith, with only a few small modifications, whose prayer and ritual books I highly recommend!)
For the first lighting of the candle I wanted to light it at my stove, the actual "hearth" of my home. It's recommended to actually light the candle, using a match as middle man, from the stove's fire - but I have an electric stove, so lighting it at the stove was next best. On this first night, and every evening since, I light the candle while saying "Westya is here, heart of our home." The candle is not a symbol of the Goddess, but Her Living Flame. After lighting, I carefully moved the candle to the shrine. (After the first night I just lit the candle in the shrine after the hand washing, while reciting the same prayer. When a new candle is needed, I'll repeat lighting it on the stove.)

After lighting the candle, I make the first offering, a "base" material that is used in cooking... milk, honey, flour, salt, oil, or clarified butter. This is to be symbolic of Westya being the base, the foundation of the family home. Four spoons of the offering go into the bowl, reciting a line from this prayer with each spoon full...
Burn on our hearth, Westya,
source of all that is holy.
Bless us who dwell here,
and smile on our home.
After the first offering, I go on to cook dinner. This is our largest meal of the day, and the one where we are really able to sit and eat as a family. After dinner is cooked, the second is made, it is a bit of the family's meal. This offering represents the transforming and sustaining power of Westya. With this offering a personal prayer is said.

After dinner is done, there's a bit of clean up, and when done in the kitchen the candle is put out. Before putting the candle out, I take a few moments of silent meditation, then say...
You are always the shining fire,
here in home's heart.
Stay with us,
stay in our home,
and each day I will honor you.
And extinguish the candle.

Later in the evening the offerings are removed (I am placing them outside at this time), the bowls washed, and returned to the shrine for the next day.

Welcoming the Lady of the Hearth - Part One

I've had a small kitchen shrine off and on for a few years now. There were a few times in the past where I would try to dedicate it to a particular hearth Deity, but it never quite felt right... So I figured it wasn't meant to be (at least not at that point in time), and gave up on that idea for a time.

That is, until reading a book by Ceisiwr Serith called Deep Ancestors: Practicing the Religion of the Proto-Indo-Europeans. The Proto-Indo-Europeans (PIE) were a loose grouping of peoples who spoke, you guessed it, Proto-Indo-European. They lived sometime around 4000 BC, give or take a thousand years or so, depending on exactly which time period we're looking at. The PIE people didn't write, so we reconstruct their language by looking at the many descendant languages (Latin is one, as is Old Norse, Old English, Old Irish, among quite a few others.) We also reconstruct elements of their culture and religion through such methods, as well as through archeological finds.

In the book Serith lists some of the Gods and Goddesses of the PIE peoples. One of these Goddesses is a hearth Goddess. The name for Her that the PIE used is unknown. Serith suggests Westya, from the same root as Vesta. Westya meaning something like "She of the Household." He also gives a few other possibilities... Xasanoya (Hearth+Deity name suffix+feminine ending - Xasa/no/ya), or Parunoya (similar to the last, but with fire instead of hearth), or Demspotni (Lady of the Household). For now, I'll stick with Westya.

I was quite taken with his description of Her, and the rituals/prayers he provides for Her, and felt called to look deeper into the subject...

Looking into a reconstructed Goddess, who's name didn't even survive. I was not entirely sure where to start. I tried to do some of my own research into the subject, which as expected isn't exactly easy - there's not a lot out there.

So what can I say about Her? She is a hearth Goddess, but more so She present in the actual hearth fire itself. The hearth is the heart of the home, the foundation, through the holy hearth fire we sustain our families. It is also through fire that many traditions give sacrifice to the Gods, and so it can be seen as a link or doorway to Them. (Smoke from the fire, or from burned incense, can be viewed in a similar way.)

So, I was left with just jumping in and seeing where this would take me. I was going to invite this Lady of the Hearth into my home, and see where it would lead me...