Olive oilWineIncenseHoneyA woven clothThe first work of a craft
Invocation Approach
Tone
Clear measured
Address
MinervaLady of the CraftThe Armed Maiden
Relationship
The teacher who hands you the tool
Warning
She tests the work and not the intention
Resonance
Craftspeople teachers students those defending a city
Symbols
OwlOliveSpearHelmetLoomAegis
Mythology Summary
Minerva is the Roman goddess of craft, wisdom and the strategic side of war, one of the three gods of the Capitoline with Jupiter and Juno. Her own sphere is the made thing - wool, the loom, the tool, the poem, the medicine - and her festival, the Quinquatria of March, was the holiday of artisans and schoolchildren. The owl, the aegis and the Gorgon came to her with the identification with Athena.
Modern Practice
Minerva is called on at the start of a piece of work, before an examination, and when a defence has to be planned rather than fought. Her practice is the bench: the tool laid out, the work done properly, the thing finished.