About this Image

Tuesday, May 25th, 2010

olive oil lamp image About This Image:

Did you know that there is archaeological evidence of women functioning as community healers and spiritual guides as far back as 32,000 bce?!  That’s a long tradition to uphold! But I have a passion for learning– for understanding– and for sharing what I know. Take the terracotta pottery on my business card, for example. That shell or bowl-like image is a four thousand year-old olive oil lamp. It was used to provide light in ancient people’s homes and maintain eternal temple flames.

It held the potential for clear vision and the honoring of Spirit. It held energy and a little bit of magic– for many people and over thousands of years. The wick forms a spiral or curl in the base of the bowl, with one end resting upright in the pinched corner. Keepers of the flame would fill the bowl with olive oil and light the wick, replacing each as needed.
lamp and wick image

It is just awesome to see the examples of archaeological oil lamps grow through the centuries from a circle with a pinched end to a circle with seven pinch-points for seven wicks (possibly used to honor Sophia, Embodiment of Wisdom, and her seven-pillar temple– known as one of the seven wonders of the world) to a closed-top terracotta pot with a tiny opening for the wick, and a larger opening for the oil.
ancient roman lamp

Over time, the small hole became a spout to hold the wick more firmly and keep the flame further from the oil reservoir, and then a handle was added on the other end, and voila! We see the genie’s magic lamp emerge in the archaeological records as a common household oil lamp made of glazed terracotta, shaped stone, or even metal. Complete with inscriptions and invocations to god or goddess around the rim for good luck, protection, victory, abundance, insight, and clear vision.

I find it fascinating that these are the same desires we hold up to the light and ask our guides to help us find in this century. Working with a counselor, healer, or some other guide, we choose to look inside ourselves for greater wisdom, for stronger self-awareness, and for a better understanding of our own emerging life story.

Come, tell me the story of the life you want to lead. Fill your reservoir with good clean fuel. Together we can weave and shape the wick that draws light and possibilities and energy into your life. Be intentional, the protector of your internal flame. Become your best self. Illuminate the life you want. The possibilities are endless, and I’m here to facilitate.
imprinted lamp image

The woman on the example above is Hestia, Goddess of the Flame for every home hearth and grand altar.

Category : Research/Info, Staci Says...

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