Entries in the Pagan Portals line are often journeys down the roads less traveled. I almost always enjoy them, but I also come at each new one with a sense of "what am I getting myself into now?" If you're unfamiliar with Pagan Portals, it's a line of books designed to very concisely get you up to speed on very specific subjects. For example, profiles of individual dieties (Thor, Brigid, Circe) or overviews on topics like runes or hedge magic. The page counts are modest, the prices are modest, and you get from "zero" to "basic understanding" on whatever the topic is. In my experience they do a good job of getting you going, and while they don't get you to expert level that was never the plan. If your interest is stoked, they've usually got a bibliography to help you with your next steps; otherwise, you can feel comfortable that you have a grasp of the topic. So when I saw that Moon Books' latest is "Hestia: Goddess of Hearth, Home & Community" I actually had a brief smile of relief. "Oh good," I thought, "I know this one!" Except... well, there's a reason that this is the latest Pagan Portal and I am Exhibit A: beyond the name, many people (ahem) don't actually know all that much about her. You're probably thinking "she's the goddess of the hearth!" Sadly, if you're like me that's where the trail runs out for you. Happily, Irisanya Moon is here to help!
The scale of the task that Moon faced is most easily displayed by looking at Chapters 2 & 3: "The Birth and Family of Hestia" and "Hestia Stories and Myths". If you know anything about Greek Mythology you know that it's one of the most well-documented pantheons this side of Christianity. And if you know that, you know that having 5 meager pages on the stories about Hestia is a bad sign for any prospective researchers. It can be inferred from the remnants of temples, statues, and other archaeological finds that Hestia was hugely important in Greek culture, but all evidence suggests that her practices were shared orally, and that the veneration of her occurred within the household or in nature rather than in temples. It's the classic story of having to define a thing by the negative space where things aren't. Irisanya Moon is quite talented at exactly this sort of work. For example, Hestia being the goddess of the hearth means very different things depending on your concept of "hearth". After all, in modern life we think of it as almost a synonym for "fireplace", but 2000 years ago the hearth was the sole source of heat in many homes, meaning the family would alal sleep close to it in colder months. It's where food would be cooked, where wet things (or people) would be dried... it was a critical part of family life, and the goddess of such a place would be a vital focus of spiritual life. Weaving together logical puzzle pieces like that one, Moon devises practices and meditations to bring you closer to Hestia, and to help attune you with the energies around this part of your life. Chapter 4 includes a helpful section on how to incorporate veneration of Hestia into modern life; burning lambs to send smoke towards Mount Olympus is interesting but not particularly helpful unless you live in Kokkinopilos (in central Greece, that is). Much better and more efficient to participate in your local community and see to the feeding of yours and your community to the extent of your ability.
The latter portion of "Hestia" is a mixture of grounded, practical advice for rituals or meditations and broader ideas to promote your own examination of Hestia's place in your life. Chapter 8, "Cultivating a Modern Relationship with Hestia" is a fantastic set of next steps if, having made it to the first 7 chapters, you've decided that you're ready for more. How to greet the goddess, interpreting possible messages, even how to troubleshoot rough spots in your relationship - you know by now that relationships with deities can have problems a lot like your other relationships, right? If you think Hestia holds any potential if your life, or even if you're just curious, "Hestia: Goddess of Hearth, Home & Community" is a great place to begin.
~ review by Wanderer
Author: Irisanya Moon
Moon Books, 2025
120 pg., $12.95
