The feast of Saint Lucia: origins, meaning and links with pagan deities. Astrological interpretation and Fengshui.
The Statue of Saint Lucia during the religious feast of the patron saint of Syracuse – By Salvo Cannizzaro – www.panoramio.com, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27562294
The liturgical memory of Saint Lucia, Christian martyr of Syracuse and virgin protector of sight and eyes, falls on December 13. Before the introduction of the Gregorian calendar (1582), the feast fell close to the winter solstice (hence the saying “Saint Lucia the shortest day there is”), but it no longer coincided with the adoption of the new calendar for a difference of 10 days. The celebration of the feast on a day close to the winter solstice is probably also due to the desire to replace ancient popular feasts that celebrate light and are celebrated in the same period in the northern hemisphere, such as the Jewish feast of Hanukkah, which lasts eight days like the celebrations for the saint in Syracuse, or the feast of Diwali celebrated in India. The cult of Saint Lucia also presents several affinities with the cult of Artemis, the ancient Greek divinity venerated in Syracuse on the island of Ortigia. To Artemis, as to Saint Lucia, the quail and the island of Ortigia were sacred. Artemis and Lucia are both virgins. Artemis is also seen as the goddess of light while holding two lit and flaming torches in her hand.
Artemis of Ephesus – goddess of fertility – By Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011), CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17024170
The Romans considered Diana-Artemis and the moon as a single entity.
The origin of the word moon is from the Latin verb splendere (lucere) and this etymology unites not only Lucia to the light and the celestial star but also to the other Roman goddess Juno called Lucina invoked with this epithet during childbirth.
Marble statue of Bona Dea attributed to Juno Lucina – By Andrea Pancotti – Bertolami’s company, Rome, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=85065666
Finally, we remember that in ancient Rome there were three virgin goddesses: Diana, Minerva and Vesta.
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Remains of the House of the Vestals in the Roman Forum – By user:Lalupa – Own work, Public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=497326
In the astrological Pantheon we can therefore look for the Moon (Diana-Artemis), Juno, Vesta and Pallas (Athena-Minerva), the last three are celestial bodies assimilated to asteroids.
At midnight on December 13, 2022 we see their azimuthal position, referable to our geographic horizon:
Azimuthal chart of asteroids on December 13, 2023
New Moon: 345°NW, Pallas: 40° NE, Juno 90°E and 140°SE Vesta.
To celebrate Saint Lucia, connected to these ancient female deities, we can harmonize our homes in these directions using the energy of Fire and illuminating the southeast, east, northeast and northwest sectors with candles and sacred lights, accompanied by aromas, stones (suitable for those of the VI chakra such as amethyst) and plants (for example, eyebright and maritime pine bark).
Amethyst laser crystal – Photo by uhi_noko812 from Pixabay
Maritime Pine Bark – “maritime pine skin” by @raffa@ is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.