Light the ANCIENT FLAME in Your Life.
Everything Old is New Again.
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
If You’ve Ever Felt Drawn to the “Old Ways”
… 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.
If that’s the path you’re on, here you can learn about ancient history - Vesta’s history - and how she is honored today with simple but beautiful rituals, all rooted in ancient practice. Use them to connect with Vesta, cultivate your own relationship with her, and receive her guidance. Her sacred flame brings warmth, comfort and inspiration to countless people worldwide, and it can do the same for you. You’ll also find other curated content on this site, from videos and articles to books and a gallery.
The Natural Spiritualty of Fire
Spiritual but not religious? Vesta might be right for you. Discover the natural comfort and instinctual reverence that come with being in the presence of her living flame. It’s provided a spiritual focus for millions of people for centuries, one that respects your intellect, lifestyle and autonomy.
If you’re new on this journey, the Vesta Today page offers simple rituals - drawn from antiquity but adapted for modern life - that can 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.
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.
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A Little About Me
I’m Debra May Macleod, BA, JD, and 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 modern relevance. Not only did that change my life, it enticed me to dive into her world through writing. My historical fiction novels chronicle the history of her amazing priestesses, the Vestal Virgins of Rome, from the earliest days of the Vestal Order in the 8th century BCE to its banishment in the 4th century CE.
All Things Vesta is my passion project and my way of celebrating this great goddess, past and present. It’s my way of connecting with others—some of whom who have been honoring Vesta and the old ways for many years, and many who are new to it all. I truly hope that, wherever you are on Vesta’s timeless path, you’ll find a spark of light here. It’s remarkable how much this spirituality can impact your life, from your relationships and home life to your sense of purpose and happiness.
If you’d care to read more about my background, visit my Author page. And 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.
Connect With Vesta and Receive Her Guidance
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 problems, your worries and curiosities, 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-world 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 World of the Vestals
See the sacred flame burn in the temple… feel its heat, hear it roar… enter the world of ancient Rome and live with the Vestals 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
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).
