Pagan Paths
A blog dedicated to the renewal of the ancient Vesta tradition, the “spiritual focus of the home,” in modern households.
The Vestals Get a Modern Makeover
Hello all! Most of the images we have of the Vestals, priestesses of the goddess Vesta, are of course from antiquity. These are things like statues, relief carvings and images minted onto coins or engraved into seal rings.
As lovely and informative as these are, and as important as they are to giving us an accurate reflection of how these revered women looked, it is nonetheless wonderful to see more modern treatments. For example, Angus McBride - the chap who illustrated the pic I've used for this blog- was a popular fantasy illustrator and his depiction of the Vestals is probably my all-time favorite.
There are seven Vestals shown here, although there were actually six Vestals in total. We might imagine that in this image, a novice is reading the sacred rituals as the Vestalis Maxima tends to the Eternal Fire. That, or a group of novices is being schooled by two older Vestals. Either way, it's a lovely image that depicts the beauty and gravity of their sacred duty. I hope you enjoy it!
All best, in Vesta xo
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