VESTA AETERNA
… is the powerful ancient Roman goddess of the home and hearthfire. For centuries, her Eternal Flame was kept alight in her temple by her priestesses, the esteemed Vestal Virgins. And if you’ve ever felt a sense of reverence or comfort when you look into a flame, it may be Vesta you’re seeing.
ETERNAL VESTA
Everything Old is New Again. Light the Ancient Flame in Your Life.
Vesta and the Spiritual Focus of Fire
If you’ve ever felt drawn to the “old ways” or to a flame, you’re not alone. It is a changing world, and many people are turning to the past to find spiritual meaning and focus in the present. Vesta’s sacred flame brings warmth, peace and inspiration to people worldwide.
If you’re new on this journey, the Vesta Today page offers simple rituals - drawn from antiquity but adapted for modern life - to help you incorporate Vesta into your life. Many find it a liberating, fulfilling and happy path.
And if you’ve already been on this path for a little or a long while, I’d love to hear from you. Perhaps you can share the ways you honor Vesta as well.
Meet Your Host, Debra May Macleod, BA, JD
Hello and welcome! I am the author of seven historical fiction novels set in Ancient Rome and featuring the powerful order of the Vestal Virgins, those priestesses who tended Vesta's eternal flame in her temple. My books chronicle the history of the Vestal Order from its rise in the 8th century BCE to its banishment in the 4th century CE.
Yet my affection for this subject goes beyond research and history. All Things Vesta is my passion project, one that celebrates Vesta's timeless flame, past and present. Because everything old is new again. Personally, I can hardly recall a time when Vesta wasn’t part of my life. After being introduced to her in Rome in 1989, I came to realize her beauty and relevance. So whether you are new to Vesta or not, I hope you’ll find this site illuminating.
If you’d care to read more about my background, visit my author page. If you’d like to connect, I’d love to hear from you.
A Candle: The Modern Altar Fire
Do you have questions in your life? Of course you do. So do I. So did the ancients, from the greatest Caesars to the most humble shopkeepers. To find the answers, they turned to the same thing that people have been turning to since the dawn of humankind. The gods and divination. Many people still turn to these today to help them focus their thoughts and energy, work through their emotions, and make decisions based on their own intuition.
The Vestal priestesses had questions too, and to find the answers, they would have had a formal method of divining the goddess’s will by reading, recording and then interpreting the flames, smoke, burnt wood and ash of Vesta’s sacred altar fire.
To bring this vital aspect of a Vestal’s temple duty to life in my novels, I did a deep dive into ancient Roman religious practices and principles, and emerged with an authentic method of fire-reading that has religious and historical merit, and that the Vestals would have used.
Yet truthfully, I found the process so beautiful and useful that I kept going. I transferred this ritualized method of fire reading to something far more accessible for most people—candle reading with Vesta’s sacred flame.
Just as the Vestals read the flames of the altar fire…
… you can read the flames of a Vesta-dedicated candle. And you can use the same kind of principles and practices used in the ancient world.
So bring your questions and worries to Vesta’s flame. By the light of her presence and your own intuition, your path will be much clearer.
From unlocking insights into your past, present and future to improving your love life, candle reading is a beautiful process with real usability.
It is a powerful way to practice self-reflection while also engaging in a ritual that helps you connect with the goddess and receive her guidance in your life.
Immerse Yourself in the Thrilling World of the Vestals—and Light a Candle in Honor of the Eternal Flame as You Read!
See the sacred flame burn in the temple… feel its heat, hear it roar… enter the world of ancient Rome and live with the Vestal Virgins by reading these action-packed, emotional historical fiction novels.
LATEST RELEASE - COELIA CONCORDIA: THE LAST VESTAL VIRGIN OF ROME.
For over a thousand years, the esteemed priestesses of Vesta were tasked with keeping the goddess’s Eternal Flame burning in her temple. For as long as the fire was alive, the Eternal City would endure. This is the thrilling, emotional story of the last Vestal Virgin—Coelia Concordia—and her battle to save the sacred flame from an encroaching darkness. It is also a story about a prophecy fulfilled, the fall of an empire, and the relentless suppression of the old gods as seen through the eyes of those who lost everything, but never gave up hope.
The First Vestals of Rome Trilogy
“If you love history, the Roman empire and the sex, fights and deception that allowed these privileged people to create one of the greatest cultures in the world, you will love this book.” - Book Junkie Reviews on Rhea Silvia
The Vesta Shadows Trilogy
“Fascinating… [A] page-turning story of the birth of the Roman empire, watching all the big names - Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Augustus - from an angle never seen before.” - Margaret George, NYT Bestselling Author on Brides of Rome
ARTICLES
VISIT THE VISUAL GALLERY
The Vestal Virgins have long been the subject of art. From ancient Roman coins to Renaissance paintings, visit the All Things Vesta Visual Gallery to browse amazing images and artifacts of the Vestal Virgins, Vesta and the world of ancient Rome. Many of the images are interactive, so click / tap / learn!
FEATURED VIDEOS
Subscribe to the All Things Vesta YouTube Channel
A Flicker of an Ancient Flame
For centuries, Vesta's Eternal Flame burned in her temple in the heart of ancient Rome, providing a sense of comfort, constancy and connection to those who honored her. No matter what was happening, the flame was there.
Here, I’ve reproduced that sense of reverence with a scene reminiscent of the temple’s sanctum: a bronze domed roof, a white marble encircling wall with fluted columns, and a vibrant flame burning inside a bronze firebowl.
Whether you are new to honoring Vesta or she’s been in your life for a long time, I think you will like these stylish devotional cards. They each express a simple sentiment you can speak to Vesta in Latin (Latin to English translation key also provided). To me, there is something very special about speaking to Vesta in her first language. This pair of cards comes as a high resolution PNG zip file download (best for professional printing on 12 point gloss).
