Priestess Archetypes Across the Ages:

Hestia / Vesta : The Principle the Flame A Hellenic goddess of house, home, hearth and family as well as order and organization.

A hearth was situated in the center of a Hellenic house, giving the inhabitants warmth and shelter when darkness fell, being a place where both sacrifices were offered to gods and food was prepared for people. When a baby was born, it was carried around a hearth and the family was asking the goddess for blessings, the child was then put on a cooled down ash of a heart to introduce it to heaven and earth. A marriage rite in ancient Hellas focused on a hearth too; a bride’s mother was lighting a torch up in the hearth of her house and was carrying it in a procession to newlyweds’ house where a new fire was lit up, from that moment marriage was considered to be concluded. Prayers have always begun with invoking Hestia, women have asked her to protect their children and grandchildren; she was also called upon before setting off a journey to help travellers come back home safely. It was a form of an early divination to observe a smoke from burning altars to see whether gods accepted the offering or not: if the smoke was rising straight to heavens, it was an omen of gods’ grace but if the smoke was circling down among altars, it signified that deities were not supportive.

Sige: The Principle of Silence Her message is very clear, Be aware of the fact that silence is a great force. It is wise to decide when it is better not to speak or not to answer. Experience the creative silence of meditation before you start acting. This is the goddess of contemplation who convinces us to slow down, to ponder and to rest. Remember that when you are alone and you do not communicate with environment, you contact your true self. We often crave for love and acceptance so much that we supress our real needs. Our civilization pushes us to live in a community and therefore being alone and silent may arouse fear in us. Drawing the card of Sige helps us to find the power to confront ourselves.

Sige shows active non-action which comes not from indifference but from the ability to think and to observe. She reminds us that the word can both heal and kill and once it is said it cannot be unsaid. If Logos was born from Silence this means that Silence is creative by nature and it incorporates the element of searching for knowledge and understanding. Because of its feminine aspect this knowledge is intuitive and subconscious but without searching we shall not attain the enlightement**. The power of silence is within each of us and each of us must confront it at some point of life. If we do listen, the silence and concentration can speak loudly and clearly but when we try to ignore them, they begin to scream and to demand attention.

This is the power of concentration and inspiration indispensable before we start acting. It brings to my mind the message of the Fool (Zero or Twenty – First Major Arcanum of Tarot) and the letter Alef of the Hebrew alphabet, This is the moment when we have an idea but it remains unspecified yet, it has only begun developing in our mind and it has not been showed to the world yet. This is the moment when we take a breath to present our idea to the public, to name it and to make all our expectations, assumpions and talents happen but before the first word is pronounced everything can still be changed. There is still time to modify the nature of the word because it is still being created.***

Selene: The Titan goddess of the moon. She was depicted as a woman either riding side saddle on a horse or in a chariot drawn by a pair of winged steeds. Her lunar sphere or crescent was represented as either a crown set upon her head or as the fold of a raised, shining cloak. Sometimes she was said to drive a team of oxen and her lunar crescent was likened to the horns of a bull. Selene's great love was the shepherd prince Endymion. The beautiful boy was granted eternal youth and immortality by Zeus and placed in a state of eternal slumber in a cave near the peak of Lydian Mount Latmos. There his heavenly bride descended to consort with him in the night.

Lady of the Lake

Ancient Origins: Water deities were extremely popular with Celtic Society for they controlled the essential essence of life itself. The spontaneous movement of springs, rivers and lakes clearly showed the supernatural powers of the goddesses who lived within; and offerings at such aquatic features were commonplace, especially of weapons and other valuables. The practice continues today at wishing wells across the country, and the Lady of the Lake is remembered as "Lady Luck"!

Her names clearly reveal this Lady to have been the Celtic Water- Goddess Coventina (presumably identified by the Romans with their Mnemosyne). This lady was worshipped throughout the Western Roman Empire, in Britain, the Narbonne area of and North-Western Iberia too. She is most celebrated for her shrine at Brocolitia () on Hadrian's Wall. Here a quadrangular temple surrounded a central pool fed by a sacred spring. Coin, jewellery and small bronze figurine offerings have been excavated as well as numerous altars dedicated by the local soldiers.

Since the Lady of the Lake's place as Merlin's student and lover was largely overtaken by Morgan Le Fay, a lady whose very name in Breton indicates a water-nymph, it seems that the two were aspects of the same character. Indeed, as both appear among the three queens who escort Arthur to Avalon, she no doubt had a third aspect making up the well-known theme of a Celtic Triple-Goddess.

Sedna: is the goddess of the sea and marine animals in Inuit mythology, also known as the Mother of the Sea or Mistress of the Sea. The goddess Sedna teaches us that we must delve into the dark, cold places that we fear most if we are to find the riches that rest there.

Conventia: a Romano-British goddess of wells and springs. “Coventina’s themes are wishes, water, purity, and innocence. Her symbol is water. This British/Celtic Goddess of sacred water sources flows with the Blajini (water spirits) to enrich our life with clarity and virtue and to answer our heart’s desires. In works of art She is depicted as a water nymph floating on a leaf while holding vessels teaming with water. Customary offerings to encourage Conventina’s favor include pins, votives, coins and semiprecious stones.

Danu: Goddess Danu is considered the most ancient of all . Her name means knowledge, wisdom, teacher, wealth and abundance. She is also known as Dana and as her Welsh equivalent, Don.

Sulis: The Goddess of the hot springs at Bath, England (the only hot springs in Britain), 's name come from a root meaning "eye" or "gap", referring both to the spring from where half a million gallons of hot water still well up every day, as well as to Her powers as seeress.