~June 7
On the hillside outside the city, the Vestals encountered a
humble man named Albinus, who was escaping in a cart
with his family, along with other civilians, from the war.
Even in danger, Albinus remembered what was due the
goddess, and felt the impiety of riding with his family
while priestesses walked, carrying their sacred objects.
Leaving his family for a time, he took the Vestals
and their precious burdens all the way to safety in Caere.
-Roman author Livy
On this day in ancient Rome, the festival called the Vestalia was celebrated. It honored Vesta, the fire goddess who was never depicted in human form because she was embodied in the flames themselves. Her temple was one of the city’s most important ritual centers. There, the sacred fire of community was kept perpetually blazing by the Vestal Virgins, a sorority of priestesses whose duties included making a sacred cake for the Vestalia from the first grain harvested. On this day, too, the temple of Vesta was opened to women; it was otherwise closed to all but the Virgins and the chief priest, the Pontifex Maximus. The Vestalia was a festival for women only; it is thought to descend from rituals honoring the individual hearths as sacred to the ancestors of each family.
Like the Vestal Virgins, each of us is given certain talents and responsibilities. It is our life task to bear them honorably through the world and through our lives. If we take this duty seriously, we help strengthen the social fabric that, when we need it for ourselves, will be strong enough to sustain us.
To purchase a copy of the book, I recommend this trusted site; https://a.co/d/bGfVO8a