Hearth Keeper Prayer Beads

Back in 2014, Hestia called me one of Her Hearth Keepers. Basically, my duty was to care for the Hearth—my home, family, and self. A title that I humbly embraced.

A few years later, the Vestals began training me to be one of them. Not caring that I wasn’t a virgin and was married with children. I served the Hearth Mothers and cared for my home and family. I also served my community as a Home Cleanser, Astral Nasty Banisher, and a Home Blesser. I had learned over the years, that I was also a Home Healer. We didn’t live in any one place for very long for a little while. While we lived in various places, I was often met by pissed off spirits who also lived in those spaces. As a Spirit Worker and a Hearth Keeper, I worked to soothe those entities, and show them that not all humans are dicks. I also helped the once human spirits, too. I cleansed those homes and helped the spirits understand the residents a little better. I healed and then moved on to the next place.

So the Vestal Spirits began to train me. Eventually Vesta made me one of Her Priestesses.

In 2023, I joined a druid fellowship called Ár nDraíocht Féin. The fellowship wasn’t new to me, as I had been attending a local grove’s public rituals for a number of years. But I was searching for a non-Wiccan program that I could afford to further my clergy training.

I wasn’t just a Hearth Keeper and a Vestal. In January 2022, I took an oath to serve my other Deities as Priestess, too. Since then I was searching for programs, workshops, and classes to become the best and ethical clergy person that I could be for my community of Immortals and mortals. But I wasn’t having much luck. Most of what I found was either not legit clergy work, or it was Wiccan. I’m not Wiccan. Then I found Cherry Hill Seminary and began saving, although they’re not accredited, which sucks. I couldn’t afford to go to a seminary school and nor did I want to earn my ordination through a Christian school. I don’t care about Christianity, and have spent too much of my younger years learning alll about them. Are they required to take authentic unbiased Pagan courses? I doubt it. I didn’t want to be required to learn about them, either. I wanted something that was purely Pagan. It’s unfair that there don’t seem to be Pagan clergy schools that are seem just as legit as any other main stream seminary.

I continued my independent studies and workshops, and my search. Eventually Baba Yaga and Freyja led me to ADF’s clergy program. I’d have to take other programs before the clergy one, but it was an option. I had been going back and forth about joining ADF for a long time, mainly because I wasn’t a Druid and I’m eclectic as fuck, and I like my freedom. I was interested in Druidry, but never took the time to learn. After doing the research, I saw that ADF isn’t super strict, and that many members are eclectic, too. So I decided to join and jumped into the Dedicant Path and into Hearth Keeping.

Which I found funny because I was already a Hearth Keeper for Hestia, and now I’m an ADF Hearth Keeper, too—it was funny to me because of the titles—Hearth Keeper, not that those words or title are unique by any means. I think around the time Hestia gave me that title, I was discovering the local grove, though!

I read the manual and wrote down some of the prayers that I liked, and included prayers from other authors, druid and non. I got myself a certificate stating that the Wren’s Nest Hearth was an official ADF Hearth and started working on those daily/weekly duties of keeping a Community Unity Candle and honoring my Hearth Mothers and Spirits.

Easy enough, since I was already doing it, but now I was part of a community and that Unity Candle changed my work. I was adding energy to the community of ADF, helping to build a stronger and healthier community, just as I had been doing for my home and family (corporeal and incorporeal). Community is one of the things that drives my spiritual work.

My Hearth Keeping duties have deepened and evolved over these last couple of years. I also have more Hearth Mothers and Spirits who want to be included.

Since joining ADF, I’ve also started using my prayer beads more often, and making others. Before I just had a set of Elder Futhark prayer beads, dedicated to Freyja and Odinn. Now I have a Hellenic set made up of the Greek Alphabet and a set for Elen of the Ways. Lately, I’ve been wanting to make a set for my Hearth Mothers and Spirits, instead of using the EF beads, because I’m eclectic and have entities from other pantheons, too. Then I joined a Cill dedicated to tending Brigid’s flame this month, and I really got a push to do the darn thing.

I made the Hearth Prayer Beads today (Feb 22, 2025):

Metal Fire Charms start and end the yellow wool yarn of 29 beads. 29 for the average lunar month and because 9 is a powerful number in my path. The three brown beads are for the three prayers that I speak every time I tend the flame (3 is also a powerful number for me). The white beads are for the entities:

1. Snake - Agathos Daimon

2. Gnome - Tomten and Nisser

3. Veil - Vestals

4. Strophalos - Hekate

5. Hearth - Vestia

6. Silver Stick Figure - Disir

7. Distaff - Frigg

8. Cat - Freyja

9. Brigid’s Cross - Brigit

10. Flame - Loki

9 white beads because I originally forgot the Disir, so I drew Them in silver and put Them next to the Hearth, which makes sense, since our Ancestors are closer to us than the Gods.

Also when I started brainstorming ideas for the symbol, I was shown what each entity wanted.

By the time this post is published, the prayer beads will already be cleansed, dedicated, and used.

I’ll be using them every time I do my Hearth Keeper duties, every first of the month, and during the Vestalia and Midwinter. Really anytime that my Hearth Mothers and Spirits are being honored.

(Scheduled to be published on my Substack on March 5, 2025)