I am the dark Goddess, I am Hecate
I am the Darkness behind and Beneath the Shadows
I am the absence of air that waits at the bottom of every breath
I am the Ending before Life begins again.
Maiden, Mother, Crone…I am all these and more.
Whenever you have need of anything call upon me.
I am here…for I abide within you all
Even at the darkest of times
When there seems no single spark to warm you
And the night seems darkest of all, I am here…
Watching and waiting to grow within you In strength and in love.
Come to me and see that which cannot be seen,
Face the terror that is yours alone.
Swim to me through the blackest oceans
To the center of your greatest fears–
The Dark God and I will keep you safe. Scream to me in terror and yours will be the Power to Forbear.
Seek me within and without and you will be strong. Know meVenture into the dark so that you may awaken Balance,
Illumination and Wholeness
Take my love with you everywhere and find the Power within
To be who you wish to be.
I am she who is at the beginning and at the end of all time.

Hecate and Her History

Hecate is a threefold Moon Goddess connected with the feminine independence from the masculine.

 

 

Hecate is skilled in the arts of divining and foretelling the future. She gives humans dreams and visions which, if interpreted wisely, led to greater clarity. Also, because of her association with Persephone, she is connected to death and regeneration. Her presence is the land of the underworld allows for the pre-Hellenic hope of re-birth and transformation as opposed to Hades, who represented the inevitability of death.

Hecate’s name derives from the Egyptian midwife-Goddess Heqit, Heket, or Hekat. The hag was the tribal matriarch of per-dynastic Egypt and was known as a wise woman. Heket was a frog headed Goddess who was connected with the embryonic state when dead grain decomposed and began to germinate. She was also one of the midwives who assisted every morning at the birth of the Sun.

In Greece, Hecate was a Moon Goddess, one of the original trinity who were connected with the moon’s three phases and ruled heaven, earth and the underworld. She was especially worshipped at places where three roads met and was known as Hecate Trivia, Hecate of the Three ways. Some scholars say that Hecate was not originally Greek, her worship having traveled south (where she had been worshiped as Isis), or from her original Thracian (Indo-European) homeland. In any case, the antiquity of Hecate’s worship was recognized by those pre-Olympian divinities whom Zeus and his cohort had ousted. The newcomers also bowed to her antiquity by granting to Hecate alone a power shared with Zeus that of granting or withholding from humanity anything she wished.

Hesiod in Theogony says that Hecate was the daughter of the Titan Perses and the Tiantess Asteria, a star Goddess, both symbols of shining light. Asteria was a sister of Leto who gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, making Hecate a cousin to Artemis. An even older tradition saw her as a more primal Goddess and made her a daughter of Erebus and Nyx (Night). A later tradition says Hecate was the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Some say she remained a virgin by choice and others say she was married to Hades.

During the middle ages, Hecate became known as Queen of the Witches. Catholic authorities said that the people most dangerous to the faith were those whom Hecate patronized – midwives, healers and seers. They also saw the simple peasants practicing folk religion as “devil worshippers” and Hecate was portrayed as an ugly hag leading covens of witches in these practices.

Hecate of the Amazons was a Moon and underworld deity. Her chariot was often pulled by dragons. She was the oldest Greek form of the triform Goddess, who ruled heaven, the underworld and the Earth. After the matriarch fell, the Greeks worshiped Hecate only as Queen of the Underworld and ruler of three-way crossroads. In Greek Mythology, when the Olympian Gods claimed fame, Zeus did not dare try to take any of Hecate’s powers from her, as he knew her powers were just as great as his if not greater.

As Hecate Trivia, Hecate of the Three Ways, Her images stood at the crossroads, where offerings of dogs, honey and black lambs were left on Full Moon nights, Divination and communication with the dead were performed in these places.

She was also know as angelos (angel) and phosphorus (light). In the myth of Kore-Persephone, Hecate does not interfere when the Maiden is dragged down into the underworld. Demeter is outraged and vengeful, but Hecate remains calm, knowing that certain things in life must come to pass and there is little point in becoming hysterical about them. This inner illumination (phosphoros) of consciousness, this learning to roll with the punches and then coming back to better things is the deep wisdom taught by the Dark Mother, the dark angel (angelos) of the collective unconscious. If we do not know this aspect of the Goddess or acknowledge Her wisdom, we cannot have a truly integrated personality.

Later, studies show Hecate with three heads and six arms, or merely as a pillar called a Hecterion. Hecate was shown holding three torches, a key, a rope, and a dagger. With the key, she unlocks the deep mysteries, the rope is a symbolical umbilical cord, the dagger, which has become the athame of Witchcraft, cuts through illusion to true power. But Hecate was also known as the most lovely one, a name for the Moon. It was said that She wore a shimmering headdress and was second to none in her powers. A statute from the 8th century BCE shows Hecate with wings and holding a snake.

Hecate was called the Silver-Footed Queen of the Night, as was Persephone. In Italy at Lake Averno, an extinct volcanic crater, the thick, dark forest surrounding the lake was known as Hecate’s sacred grove. Actual temples to this Goddess were rare. During the Middle Ages, Hecate became known as Queen of the Witches.

Hecate is known for her gifts of prophecy, her clear vision, and her knowledge of the magical and occult arts. Because she stands at the crossroads, she can look into the past, present and future, Her Priestesses were many, including Medea and Circe. Medea had Hecate’s foresight and wisdom, Circe her gift of the magical arts. Since Hecate had three faces, she could look to the past, the present ,and future, thus she was highly skilled as a visionary.

Hecate’s worshipers invoked her in ritual and placed food for her as an offering. This was known as Hecate’s supper. Rituals were always in the darkest hours of the night. Worshipers gathered to study and learn occult wisdom (later refereed to as the “black arts”). Initiations in the name of Hecate are still carried out by many witches whether they be solitaire or in covens.

Hecate is the Dark Mother, in both the positive and the negative sense. She can send demons to torment men’s dreams, she can drive them mad, if they are not well integrated enough to cope with her, but to those who dare to welcome her, she brings creative inspiration. She is Hecate Antea, the Sender of nocturnal visions.

When one learns from Hecate with patience and love, one learns that She is not an ugly hag, but a beautiful Goddess. One must be willing to “sacrifice” oneself on the inner altar in order to gain Her good will. This type of sacrifice does not literally mean immolation or austerity of unnatural kinds, This is a spiritual sacrifice, willingness to give up negative habits and friends, taking time for meditation and ritual, being kind and understanding to your fellow person, and open to new ways of spiritual thought and understanding. The only thing we have of value to offer the Dark Mother is the life force of our being. When we can offer ourselves without reservation, the Crone gives in return far more than we can imagine. Like Loki, we lose nothing, what we gain, is up to our intentions.

Hecate, the Crone, is the power behind the Throned Queen Mother, She is the ultimate advisor, for She sees clearly back into the past through the present and on into the future. She is the Keeper of the Key to the Akashic Records. The final mysteries of life and the universe are Hers. She is the gentle Death Priestess who meets us at the end of our lives and guides us into the world of spirit.

Hecate, the Crone blends with the Maiden and Mother as they blend with Her. She is the greatest of Teachers and Initiator, for She leads us downward into the entrance of the labyrinth web. From that point, we have no choice but to face the cycle of life and death. We are shown past lives, the mistakes, the victories, and the talents gained. Only when we can accept and understand, at least in part, does the Crone show us the most sacred of Her Mysteries: that the labyrinth does not end but continues on, back into life, a never-ending cycle of existence.

Today we can relate to Hecate as a guardian figure in our unconsciousness, holding the key to the dark realms within us and bearing torches to light our way into the depths of our inner being. Our patriarchal civilization has perhaps taught us to fear this figure, this terrible hag, but if we trust in her ancient energies we will find her a kindly guardian. She stands at the triple crossroads that exists at all levels of our being, manifesting as spirit, soul and body. We should recognize that the terrible, awful hag-like image of Hecate is merely a document of the unconscious fear of the feminine which men, immersed in a one-sided patriarchy, have over the millennia projected in this archetype.

We must visit and come to terms with the dark unconscious side of our “inner nature” for, if we avoid this realm, we create polarity and eventually develop a dualistic world view. We have to face up to our inner Hecate, make a relationship with her as guardian of our unconsciousness, our dark side, and, trusting Her stewardship, allow ourselves to grow into an awareness of the rich realm of our personal underworld.

This above is from Hecates Cauldron- Lady Hecate who is a High Priestess and whose Matron is Hecate

www.hecatescauldron.org

 

Hecate is Queen of the Night, the Spirit World, and Witchcraft. Her epithets include “She Who Works Her Will.” Although today most associated with Greek mythology, her name, meaning “influence from afar,” acknowledges her foreign origins.

Generally believed to have first emerged in what is now Turkey , she was not an obscure goddess. Hecate was at one time chief deity of Caria, now western Turkey , and was eventually widely worshipped throughout Europe, Western Asia, and Egypt . Records of formal worship date from eighth century BCE to the fourth century CE, although as magic fell from grace she became an increasingly disreputable spirit. All Hecate’s myths clearly identify her as a witch and matron of magical arts.

Hecate holds dominion over life, death, regeneration, and magic. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance, and travel. Hecate guards the frontier between life and death. She is an intermediary between the spirit world and that of humans. She is the witness to all crimes, especially those against women and children.

Hecate has been known to assume the shape of a black cat, a bear, a pig or a hen but most typically manifests as a mature woman or black dog. She has a particularly strong bond with dogs. Even when manifesting in human form, Hecate is usually accompanied by hounds. Somehow there will be a canine reference. When manifesting as a woman alone, Hecate often circles in the manner of a dog.

Artistic renderings of Hecate usually attempt to capture her spiritual essence. She may be depicted with three bodies, each facing a different direction. One hand holds the knife that is the midwife’s tool, another holds a torch to illuminate the darkness, the last bears a serpent representing medical and magical wisdom. Sometimes Hecate is depicted with a woman’s body but three animal heads – those of a dog, a horse, and a lion.

Hecate’s sacred time is black night. All her festivities and ceremonies are held after dark, the only acceptable illumination is candles or torches. She only accepts offerings and petitions at night. Hecate is identified with the Dark Moon, the time of her optimum power.

The last day of each month is dedicated to Hecate. She also shared a festival with Diana on August 13 th in Italy . Modern Wiccans, for whom Hecate is an important deity, celebrate November 16 th as Hecate Night.

Her sacred place is the crossroads, specifically three-way crossroads. Among her name is Hecate Trivia. That doesn’t indicate that Hecate is trivial or that worshipping her was a trivial persuit: Trivia literally means “three roads.” Hecate is Spirit of the Crossroads: her power emenates from their point of intersection. Hecate’s image was once placed in Greek towns wherever three roads met.

Sacred Creatures: Dogs, toads, snakes, dragons

Color: Black silver purple

Number: Three

Attributes: Key, Cauldron, Broom, Torch

Plants: Garlic, lavender, mandrake,

Fruit: Pomegranate

Trees: Black poplar, yew, date palm, willow

Planets: Moon and Sirius, the Dog Star.

Stones black, Jet,  etc

Hecate is most prominent in Greek myth-ology for being the sole deity to voluntarily assist Demeter in her search for her abducted daughter, Persephone. Later, after Persephone eats Death’s six pomegranate seeds and is condemned to spend half the year in Hades, it is Hecate who accompanies her as Lady-in-Waiting. In some legends, she even becomes Hades’co-wife. Ceberus, three-headed hound of Hades, may be Hecate in disguise.

Hecate becomes Persephone’s link to her mother and the land of the living. She guarantees that Death cannot break the bond between mother and daughter. Hecate is the Matron of Necromancy.

Hecate, daughter of the Titans Perses and Asteria, is older than the Olympian spirits. The eight-century BCE Greek poet Hesiod writes that Hecate’s power dates “from the beginning.” Zeus was crazy about her: he eliminated all other pre=Hellenic deities (the Titans) but, havingb fallen madly in love with Hecate, he let her be.

Hecate is understood to be a triple goddess by herself, appearing as maiden, mother, and crone. She is also part of a lunar triplicity with Artemis and Selene, and also with Demeter and Persephone. Hecate dances in Dinysus’ retinue and is a close ally of Kybele.

Alongside her intense lunar identification, Hecate is also associated with the element of water: her first love affairs were with sea gods including Triton. Her great-grandfather was Pontus the Sea. Her maternal great-aunt was the sea monster Keto. Hecate is also related to the Gorgons and Sirens and may be the mother of Scylla, who was transformed into a sea monster by another relative, Circe. Prior to her transformation Scylla was a beautiful woman from head to waist, with canine hips terminating in a fish tale.

Hecate led a host of shape-shifting female spirits known as Empausas, whose usual manifestation was as a beautiful woman with one brass leg and one donkey’s leg; Hecate herself sometimes takes this form. The Empusas patrolled roads and apparently sometimes had fun terrorizing travelers. If one invoked Hecate, however, they left you alone.

Devotees feted the goddess by holding rituals known as Hecate’s Suppers at the end of each month at a crossroad. (The end of the month in lunar calendars corresponds to the Dark Moon, the new month begins with the first sighting of the new moon). The Church was still trying to eradicate Hecate’s Suppers in the eleventh century.

Post-christianity, Hecate became among the most intensely demonized spirits, her very name synonymous with “witch”. Her symbols (toad, cauldron, broom) are inextricably linked with stereotypes of witchcraft. What were symbols of fertility became symbols of evil. Her sacred dogs were converted into the Hounds of Hell. This denigration served to camouflage Hecate’s origins as a deity of Healing and Protection.

Myth: Hecate represented all three aspects of the Goddess as Maiden, Mother and Crone. In her Crone aspect, symbolized by the dark moon, she was the Goddess of the Dead and the Queen of the Night. Hecate was worshiped at the intersections of three roads, where she walked with her spectral hounds, illuminating the night with her blazing torch. Those who worshiped Hecate knew the secrets of magic and sorcery, and dedicated their work to the dark goddess. The Crone aspect of women, represented by Hecate, was honored in many cultures as the wise woman, the guide to the Underworld and the great revealer of the mysteries.

Attributes: Wisdom, magic, prophecy, mystery, regeneration, eternity.

Symbols: Crossroads, blazing torch, hounds.

Feast and Festival Days: January 8, May 3, August 13, October 31, November 16, December 31.

Color: Black.

Hecate’s Wisdom: Call upon me to claim your psychic power as a wise woman and the keeper of women’s ancient mysteries. Remember the importance of honoring the dark, for only then can we participate fearlessly in the joys and challenges of life.

Hecate rules the sky, the earth, the sea, sorcery, death,  magic, darkness, navigation, tombs, the underworld, the dead, crossroads, flocks, crime scenes, dark deeds, the lunar cycle, the dark of the moon, the unconscious, moonless nights, and the terrors of the night. She is the matron of witches and priestesses. Hecate is pronounced heh-ka-tayí, and also spelled Hekate. Other names for Hecate include Hekat, Hecale, Hecalene, and Hecuba.

Her many titles include Invincible Queen, Great Mother, Sovereign Goddess of Many Names, Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, Goddess of Witches, Queen of Witches, Mistress of Magic, Queen of Ghosts, Queen of Crossroads, Queen of the Night, Queen of Death, Lady of the Underworld, Holy One, The Distant One, Goddess of Storms, Goddess of Midnight, Goddess of the Scene of the Crime, She Who Works From Afar, and She Who Has Power Far Off. She was also known as Hecate Agrotera, Hecate Ereshkigal, Hecate Prytania, Hecate Triformis, Dea Triformis, Hecate Brimo (power); Hecate Selene, the Far-Shooting Moon; and Hecate Trivia or Trevia, Hecate of the Three Ways, Goddess of Crossroads.

Dogs are sacred to Hecate, particularly black dogs. The owl is her sacred bird. Plants sacred to Hecate include almonds, angelica, aniseed, Pontic azalea, belladonna, borage, Calla lily, cardamom, chamomile, cyclamen, cudweed, dandelion, datura, fennel, feverfew, garlic, mountain germander, poison hemlock, English ivy, Ladyís mantle, lavender, laurel, maidenhair fern, mandrake, mint, musk rose, common nightshade, deadly nightshade, onion, black poppy seeds, rue, St. Johnís wort, sesame, rough smilax, verbena, and wolfbane. Willow, cypress, yew, date palm, and black poplar are her sacred trees. Three is her sacred number, and her sacred letter is ëLí. January 31, May 7, and August 13 or 14 are Hecate’s feast days. She was always celebrated at night, usually by torchlight. A ring, scepter, crown, torches, and the cauldron are her symbols.

Invoke Hecate for magic, witchcraft, enchantment, power, shamanism, rain, business, wealth, healing, purification, expiation, wisdom, hunting, divination, incantations, favor, prophecy, transformation, endings, regeneration, empowerment, victory, reincarnation, lunar magic, money spells, psychic work, dream magic, cauldron spells, crone power, knowledge of magic, good luck for hunters and sailors, help in the final stage of childbirth; blessing, casting spells, making charms, averting evil, finding stolen children, and protection from evil spirits. Hecate is also invoked to protect children, sailors, flocks, roadways, the poor, and the downtrodden. Invoke her as Hecabe for psychic work. Practitioners on left hand paths invoke Hecate for black magic, blasting, cursing, destruction, hexing, vengeance, necromancy, controlling demons, and calling storms that ruin harvests.

Hecate is said to be a lot more likely to give you what you need than what you ask her for, so some witches find it more effective to simply ask her to send them whatever is needed in their lives. Three torches can be used to invoke Hecate. Crossroads, tombs, and crime scenes are powerful places for her invocation. She is best invoked at the Full Moon, while the Moon is waning, and on the dark nights just before the New Moon. Hecate is only invoked after night falls, in moonlight or in torchlight.

To honor Hecate, erect her three-faced image at a crossroads where three roads meet. This is also where offerings to her are left, at Full Moon. Honey, menstrual blood, roast meat, graveyard dirt (ground patchouli leaves, alone or mixed with other dried herbs), and eggs and onions that have been used to absorb negative vibrations in the home, are all suitable offerings to Hecate. Red wine, honey, and willow water, an infusion of willow bark, are appropriate for libations to her.

Hekatombs, a Greek word used to mean any large sacrifice, was originally a sacrifice of one hundred oxen offered to Hecate. Black dogs, black lambs, and even black slaves were also once sacrificed to her, by magicians who sought her help in their workings.

Greeks who worshiped Hecate has a custom of holding Hecate Suppers in her honor, at Full Moon and on her feast days. Roast meat, honey cakes, and seeded breads are among the appropriate foods for such a dinner. It is traditional to save a bit of each of the dishes from a Hecate Supper to leave as an offering to her.

Caution should be used when invoking Hecate. She is an active goddess who is very likely to answer if you call her, but she is not one who can be easily dismissed. Invoking Hecate may be the start of a lifetime in her service, so consider this before you invoke her.

Modern feminist spirituality and Wicca have reclaimed Hecate.  She most often represents the Crone aspect/metaphor of the sacred trilogy; sometimes she is venerated in her earlier visages as a Great Mother.

 “As a harbinger of rebirth, the Crone’s appearance signals

a call to profound transformation and healing.”

 

“…the function of the old wise woman…(is) assistance in times

 of difficult passage…” 

  “As midwife to the psyche she is constellated in ’emergency’

  situations where a spirit, a song, an alternative, a new being

 is emerging…”

 “…(she) can represent…the power…to do what is right,

 for the benefit of future generations and of the earth itself…”

 “Darkness is not necessarily evil as it is the ground from

which light emerges and in this sense it is unmanifest light

 and pre-natal darkness.”

Great Mother Goddess

With all of her powers over heaven, earth and water and other threefold aspects, Hecate, perhaps more than any other Greek goddess, exhibited the traits of a Great Mother Goddess.  She was usually depicted with three heads or three melded bodies and multiple arms (a relationship to Kali).  As Hecate Trevia, she guarded the way where three roads crossed and thus could see in all directions.  In classical times Hecate was seen as the goddess of the waning, dark moon.  One theory says that she was at one time the goddess of all aspects of the moon but eventually this dominion was split into three with Persephone/Artemis as the virgin/new moon and Demeter/Hera/Selene as the mother/full moon.She was connected to all three of the life stages.  She was there at the time of fertilization and birth.  She could open the womb of all living creatures.  As the mistress of gates, doors and the abyss she was the symbol of the feminine womb.  She was the guardian of women in child birth.  She was a nurse of the young.  She had associations to growing and the harvest through her relationship to the phases of the moon and her suppression of storms.  She was the goddess of healing and magic.  And at the end of time she was the Queen of Night, Mistress of the Lower Way, Opener of the Way to Death.  As the queen of death she ruled the powers of regeneration as represented by her association with the serpent.

This night is Hers

The 29th of each month

Light  some candles representing Her torches

While mugwart burns in the flames

Goddess of the Crossroads

Let Hecate be honored in this sacred night

 

Light to show me where I have come from

Light to show me where I can go

Two torches

Two paths

 Whats your Choices

Do not look to another

For She looks at you to decide

The choice is yours

 

You have come to a hedge

You do not know what to do

Your at a fork

Tis time to trust your instinct

Go with what you know

and always listen to your heart

 

 

 

Write a Hymn

To the dark Goddess within

She is the ending

so there can be new beginings

Her name is power

Her name is great

Queen of witches

She is Hecate

 

 

Goddess of keys

She has access to all

Ahh but one yet she still awaits

is the key to your heart

 

Hecate HecateHecate

Great  One

Most beautiful One

Triple Goddess three in One

Ancient One

Wise One

Goddess of witches, magic. justice, vengeance healing and even prosperity Goddess of women who know you and know you not

 

Hecate Hecate Hecate

With my heart  I praise

With a nod I show respect

For honor is due to you

 

 

Hecate Hecate Hecate

Would you  Dark Mother  come dance with me

Beneath the slit  of the silvery moon

Come oh Come o Hecate

For tonight my heart longs for you

 

A Hecate symbol

The Hecate Wheel Altar Tile
The Hecate Wheel is the traditional symbol of Hecate as the three faced Goddess of Witchcraft. Some say it represents the three wombs in its triplicity. 6 1/2″ dia.

Moons of Hecate

Ugly, warts protruding from her nose and chin, mysterious, dark and loathsome. Hecate is associated with the dark side of the moon; but this is the true moon. The moon has no light of it’s own, only reflected light of the sun. Like the moon, Hecate is dark. She symbolizes the dark within us, the part of our psyche we refuse to acknowledge. We ignore the wisdom, the strength, and the truth of Hecate, because our fear of the darkness is so strong. In Western society we value beauty, youth and money above all else. We hide our elderly, our sick and our poor so we can pretend to be immune to such human conditions, but Hecate reminds us of the truth. Hecate sees through the facade of societal amenities. Hecate is not deceived by social standing, education, or titles, and wealth. She is patroness to those on the outskirts of society. She believes not only in second chances, but thirds and fourths. Her mantle of healing covers the forsaken, when the rest of society turns it’s back. As the triple goddess, Hecate represents maiden, mother and crone; mind, body and spirit; and birth, life and death. As mistress if the night, she represents the three stages of the lunar cycle, new, full and dark. As ruler of the menstrual cycles, Hecate can wreak havoc in the lives of women and the men who love them. Hecate rules over childbirth, menstruation and menopause. All the powers that men fear most! Hecate enforces feminine indedepence from masculine influence! But men and women take heed! Hecate is a Goddess for all. She is the great equalizer. Invoke Hecate into your life and rid yourself of dualistic beliefs; black and white, good and bad. In truth and wisdom. Hecate can propagate balance and neutrality into your life and bring forth compassion for the self and all who share the human condition.