Lare are Ancestral spirits that protect and preserve family lines and family knowledge. They are the bridge to the past, connecting the present to all that has come before. In old practices a Lare shrine is set in the home, typically occupying the east or west quarter. They are traditionally spirits associated with the hearth, and many people place their Lare shrine on the mantle, or somewhere near the hearth.
In archaic Roman religion the Lare were worshipped at the crossroads where small towers were erected in their honor and offerings were placed on an altar set before them1. The Lare were originally spirits of the fields, and after the rise of agriculture they became associated with plots of farmland. In this aspect they guarded specific places, the towers erected in their honor being, in effect, their watchtowers. Because the Lare were associated with planting, they were also linked to the seasons and to time itself2. The Divine protection of places held as much meaning to the ancient Romans as did the protection of time and the seasons. The Roman god Janus stood at the threshold of all of these things, and was linked to the Lare through this relationship. He was also the god of doorways, and the Lare were spirits of the hearth and protectors of the home. Here they joined together as household spirits. Because the Lare were also spirits of the seasons and of time, they were considered Ancestral spirits linking the past, present, and future together through preservation of lineage.
The Lare were associated with other protectors known as the Penates (pay-nah-tays) who were spirits that protected the food supply within the home. Our modern word pantry is derived from Penate. It is significant to note that the Lare provided indiscriminate protection of all members of the household, free or slave, blood related or not. As a result, the slave class and the lower free class in Rome found religious shelter in the Lare cult. Among modern Italian practitioners, non-Italians are adopted into the Clan through the Lare and thereby become full members of the tradition in all regards.
Because of their earliest connection to fields and meadows, the Lare also have a relationship with Faunus, Silvanus, and other rustic gods. With the rise of agriculture the Lare became linked to the seed. This resulted in a connection of the planted seed with the buried flesh. In death, the ancient Romans were more concerned with disappearance from this world than with entry into the next. To the Romans death was a defilement of the person, and this defilement had to be removed by the performance of certain rites. Specifically this required the sacrifice of a sow to Ceres, a sacred meal eaten at the burial site, and a ritual cleansing of the home of the departed. This evolved into the modern custom of the wake meal and the sending of flowers to the home.
In Roman religion a Divine force survived the departed man, and this was the genius spirit, a living entity passed from family to family through the head of the household. For the female this same force was called her juno spirit. The Genius (family spirit) connected to the father of the family was personified in art, linking him to the Ancestral spirit. This portrait introduced the genius to each new generation. On the center of the Lare shrine was a painting of the father flanked on each side by a Lare spirit. The female juno spirit was never depicted in art but was connected to the hearth. Here it was represented by the goddess Vesta, of whom no Roman statue was ever made. Vesta was the spirit of the fire within the hearth. The wife of the home was responsible for keeping the fire alive, just as vestal virgins kept the eternal flame alive in the temple of Vesta.
The juno spirit belonging to the wife was with her in everything that she performed. It was passed to her on the day of her marriage beneath her veil in a ceremony performed by a priest of Jupiter and Juno. Today this ancient connection lives on in the popularity of June weddings, the month sacred to Juno. A woman's juno gave her fertility and assisted in childbirth. Every woman had her juno, every man his genius sharing in all the aspects of their life.
Offerings at both the hearth and the Lare shrine were important duties. In archaic Roman religion, inherited from the Etruscans, spirits of the Dead known as mane lived on in or near their tombs, and had to be fed. When these spirits were satisfied, they were favorable towards the Living. But when neglected, they suffered and took vengeance on the Living, becoming the Lemures. In later times the custom of feeding the departed at their place of burial evolved into the placing of offerings such as spelt grain or cakes at the Lare shrine. These shrines depicted a serpent on the base, and in archaic Roman religion the Ancestral spirit came in the form of a serpent to take the offerings laid on the hearth3. The Lare were always honored with special offerings and a lighted lamp whenever important family matters arose such as a birth, death, or marriage. The presence of these spirits in the daily life of the family and on important occasions bound the family together in a spiritual unity that went beyond the natural bonds of affection. The Lare represent a very ancient family cult that was born of the division of the various parts of the household. The hearth containing the fire essential for cooking and keeping warm, the pantry guarded by the Penates, and the head of the household who was heir of the genius of his forebearers now in the Otherworld all ensured the perpetuity of the race. Due to its great importance whenever the family moved, special care was taken to transport the Lare shrine to the new residence.
1 Dumezil, Georges. Archaic Roman Religion (vol. 1). Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1996, pp. 343–344.
2 Dumezil, Georges. Archaic Roman Religion (vol. 1). Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1996, pp. 340–346.
3 Grenier, Albert. The Roman Spirit in Religion, Thought, and Art. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926, pp. 94–95.