#westya

Or as I write it, Wéstya. Her name means "She of the Household" or "Burning one". Other names for her are Démspotnī, "Lady of the House", Hā́sānoyā (with a hard h like the ch in loch), "Goddess of the Hearth" and Tépṇtī, related to "Warming"

Wéstya is the goddess of the hearth. She also rules over fire, the home and food stores. As the patron of the home fire, she embodies the very basis of the house and family. She is the place of refuge to which we go to feel safe, rest and be with those we consider our kin.

Wéstya has domain over fire in its role as the warming center of the house and also as a source of cooked food. Fire relates to purity, so Wéstya is deeply associated with purity.

(She is not however the Proto Indo-European deity of fire itself, they are another déiwos we will see later on)

She also plays a key role in ritual and has connection with the concept of eternal fires (fires that were never extinguished). Veiling seems to be a way to honor her too.

Wéstya also rules over the Dṃyṓs, household spirits who protect each home and their member (akin to the roman Lares and similar household spirits)

Offerings

taken from here

Fire

butter or oil lamp

Clarified butter

red, yellow, and orange beads

Devotional acts

Lit up candles (stay safe)

Tidy up your room or your home

Cook for your family/kin

Take care of relationships with your family

Organize your shelves and fridge

Veil

Honor your house and how it shelters you

Get something new and needed for your home (maybe a new rug, cleaning implement or table you have been needing for ages)

Associations

Colours red, yellow and orange

Fire

Cooking

Food storing

Rowan

the feast of Imbolc

February

Descendants in later pantheons

Hestia (Greek)

Despoina (Greek)

Vesta (Roman)

Tabiti (Scythian)