VESTA CANDLE READINGS
Connect With the Goddess and Receive Her Guidance
Divination is found in all civilizations and cultures around the world, both ancient and modern. It’s a part of our psyche and a part of our societies. Whether through the cryptic sayings of a revered oracle or the readings of an online astrologer, we seek to know the unknowable and to discover the answers to life’s most pressing questions, from romance to finances. To the ancient Romans, divination wasn’t as much about predicting the future as it was about looking for signs from the gods to determine their divine will… which perhaps amounts to something similar. Because if the gods will it, if the Fates will it, it will be. They therefore had very strict methods of performing divination.
Candle reading—studying the wax flow of a melting candle—is another form of divination, and it is used in various cultures and capacities. The method that I use is uniquely suited to honoring Vesta. That’s important, since I’ve often been asked “How can I connect with Vesta? Is there a structured ritual I can use?” Candle reading can achieve this. It can help you personally connect with the goddess, receive her guidance, and develop your own relationship with her.
About this “ancient” method of candle reading
While writing my novels on the Vestal Virgins, I quickly recognized that the priestesses would have had a very formal and ritualized way to divine the will of Vesta by reading the movement of the eternal flame in the temple’s hearth, as well as the shifting of the wood and even the smoke that rose up from the fire. Yet because so much of what they did was performed in secret within the inner sanctum of the temple, and because any documents outlining this process would have been lost or destroyed in antiquity, we do not have any primary sources detailing this method.
To bring the Vestals and the temple to life, I therefore had to fill in the blanks. To do so, I did a deep dive into the practices and principles of ancient Roman religion and emerged with a structured method of fire reading that was based on this information, one that I believe conforms to the methodology the Vestals would have used.
That done, it was a fairly simple matter to transfer this ancient methodology to candle reading. To me, candle reading with Vesta’s flame is a profoundly moving ritual, one that I use on a regular basis to stay connected to the goddess and feel both her presence and her counsel in my life. I truly hope and believe that you will feel the same way.
This method doesn’t just incorporate ancient rituals and practices. It also taps into the natural allure of fire. No doubt you feel it when you look into a flame… the sense of comfort and wellbeing, the beauty of the flame, and the pull toward self-reflection.
Fire is the symbol of the soul. It’s the symbol of eternity. It’s the oldest form of spiritual expression known to humankind, and for as long as we’ve gazed into the flame, we’ve wondered about the mysteries of life—not just Life in the largest sense, but also our own lives. Because every flame is a little light that our lives orbit around, just as the planets in the cosmos orbit around the sun. There is something very spiritual about that. When we are faced with questions about our past, present and future, when we are faced with questions about the universe and our place in it, we light and candle and reflect.
Candle reading offers a structured way to do this.
Finding Peace and Answers in Vesta’s Flame
A Candle: The Modern Altar Fire
While I am always adding new aspects and elements to this Vesta candle-reading method, you can nonetheless learn the basic foundations in my book Divining Your Life: Candle Readings With the Flame of Vesta. It’s a good introduction to the practice.
Whether your questions are big or small, serious or irreverent, candle reading with Vesta’s illuminating flame can help you tap into your own intuition and discover the answers.
Connect with Vesta via the ritual of candle reading
Once you have a structured way to “read” a candle—especially one rooted in ancient customs—you will find this practice becomes an integral part of your life. Candle reading offers a way to connect with the goddess through ritual, and to feel both her presence and her guidance in your life in a very real-world way. Use it to establish a communion and relationship with Vesta, one that can last a lifetime.
You and Vesta have your own relationship; however, if you’d like me to perform a custom Vesta Candle Reading for you, I’d love to.
What is a Custom Vesta Candle Reading?
Using my antiquity-inspired methodology and my knowledge of all things Vesta and ancient Rome, I can perform a dedicated Vesta Candle Reading specifically for you. This is done according to strict protocol, with every step of the process being special and meticulously performed. From the elaborate wick structure of my hand-made candles to the final detailed summary you’ll receive, everything is done with special care and reverence. I can help you:
· Divine Vesta's guidance: Receive messages and signs concerning your home, personal well-being, relationships, and life's journey.
· Unlock insights into your past, present, and future: Help you gain clarity on underlying patterns, current challenges, and potential paths forward.
· Tap into your own intuition: The reading serves as a powerful conduit, helping you to recognize and trust your inner wisdom.
· Bring Vesta's profound presence to your journey: The reading can help you foster a deep and personal connection to the ancient goddess, bringing comfort, focus, and inspiration.
If you seek a sacred connection to ancient wisdom, personal guidance, and a unique way to understand your path, allow me to perform a Custom Vesta Candle Reading for you. It is more than a reading; it is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and receive the timeless illumination of Vesta's Eternal Flame.
I Perform Two Types of Vesta Candle Readings: Whole Candle Readings and Candle Wax-Drippings in Water Readings
Whole Candle Readings
Whole candle readings involve my burning down a full taper candle during the ritual, with Vesta’s flame animating the candle. The reading is done according to strict protocol and using a special antiquity-inspired divination grid. Using it as a template or templum, I am able to observe, record and interpret the signs (i.e. the melting wax, the flame, the vapor, as well as other portents and omens), as they relate to the question or issue that you have provided for the candle reading ritual.
Each candle used in a whole candle reading is hand-made and hand-poured by me, using my special Vesta wick arrangement and wax blend. Each candle is therefore completely unique.
The final reading is provided as a downloadable PDF document (approximately 50 pages, plus bonus content) that includes photographs of the ritual, my observations and a written summary. In addition, you will receive an MP4 file that contains video clips of the candle burn.
Candle Wax-Drippings in Water Readings
While fire was obviously of primary importance to the Vestals, water was important, too. Not only was the temple and altar regularly washed with spring water, but the Vestal Virgins ritually disposed of the ash from the sacred hearth by depositing it into the Tiber River. That’s what prompted me to also incorporate candle wax drippings in water into my candle reading methodology.
Also performed according to strict protocol, this involves dropping the melting wax from a consecrated Vestal candle into purified water and - using the same style of divination grid as with whole candle readings - observing, recording and interpreting the movement of the wax droplets, as well as other elements and omens, as they relate to the question or issue that you have provided.
The final reading is provided as a downloadable PDF document (approximately 50 pages, plus bonus content) that includes photographs of the ritual, my observations and a written summary.
You Select the Topic - or Leave it Open
Whether you prefer a whole candle reading or a candle wax-drippings in water reading, you will have the opportunity to specify an issue or question that you want me to focus on.
Common issues include: love life and relationships; renewal and peace; abundance and fulfillment; coping with loss. Or if you want, you can simply hand it all to Vesta and the gods and ask for a message from the universe. So whether you have a specific question or you’re open to a general reading, it is entirely up to you.
A Special Flame
In addition to the antiquity-inspired method I use, one that has religious and historic merit, I perform all my candle burns / readings by the light and heat of an old and special flame.
My passion for all things Vesta and ancient Rome started back in 1989, the first time I visited the Roman Forum as a young woman. There, I came across a woman burning a candle before the ruins of the Temple of Vesta. It was she who introduced me to this beautiful ancient religion, and even gave me her hand-poured candle as the “best souvenir of Italy.” I still have it. And every March 1st, the date the Vestals renewed the sacred fire in the temple, I honor their memory by lighting my “Vestal” candle. While it burns, I scoop out a bit of the melted beeswax. Later, when I am creating the candles I use for my Vesta candle readings, I add a bit of this old beeswax to the pot of melting new wax. To me, this is a special way to invoke Vesta, and to further bring the spirit of her flame to this ritual.
My “Vestal” candle, its white glass container showing a resemblance to a Vestal’s stola. Here, I am scooping out a bit of the melted beeswax with a wooden wick.
Here, I am getting ready to create a new batch of candles. I will eventually add some of the old beeswax to my special wax blend.
Here, one of my hand-crafted taper candles, the type I use in whole candle readings, is alive with Vesta’s flame and is busy delivering the signs.
Here, a hand-crafted candle, created specifically for use with my candle wax drippings in water readings, is being lit for the first time and Vesta is invoked.
What a Vesta Candle Reading Can Do For You
A Vesta Candle Reading can help you gain insight into a problem, question, area or aspect of your life. It can help you put your life—past, present and future—in perspective. It can help you find peace, understanding and inspiration. It can help you reflect upon and decide what actions or non-actions are in your best interests, so that you can have the future you were meant to have. It can broaden your awareness of how connected your “modern” life is to antiquity. It can comfort you and bring you hope.
Ordering a Custom Vesta Candle Reading
Getting a custom Vesta Candle Reading is a special process, one that I always perform according to my strict protocol. I do this out of respect for this tradition, but also because I want your candle reading to be as authentic and meaningful as possible.
If you wish to order a Custom Vesta Candle Reading, you must decide on two things.
First, do you prefer a Whole Candle Reading or a Candle Wax-Drippings in Water Reading?
Second, what do you wish to be the subject of the reading? That is, what area of your life do you want to focus on? Common subjects / questions relate to: relationships or love life; renewal and peace; abundance and fulfillment, or coping with some kind of loss or change.
I am here to answer any questions you have in advance: feel free to email me at Contact@DebraMayMacleod.com.
All orders are placed via the All Things Vesta Store (link below).
Regardless of which reading you choose, or its focus, you can rest assured that I will put my heart and soul into the final product for you.
