HECATE

Hecterions

Hecate is the oldest Greek triform goddess. She is at the same time the three-phased Moon, and, in particular, it’s dark phase. She is the Dark Mother, or Crone aspect and a major deity of the Dianic tradition. In the Greek pantheon, Hecate Triformis is known as Artemis, Persephone and Hecate. Hecate is sometimes seen as the third aspect of the Trinity Persephone/Demeter/ Hecate for it is Hecate who leads Demeter to her daughter. She is a "dark" goddess, associated with magic and the night. She is often portrayed with 3 heads or with a 3 headed dog. She was worshipped mostly at crossroads where offerings were left for her, known sometimes as "Hecate's Suppers", were left there late at night on the eve of the full Moon. The person leaving the food walked away without looking back, for fear of confronting the goddess face to face. This was a way of honoring the threefold goddess where one could look three ways at once. Other offerings included honey, dogs, black ewes and sometimes even humans.

Some say she is not originally Greek, she has been classified as Thracian or as a Titan. She may also be linked to the Egyptian Goddess Heket.

She is a goddess of the Moon, of the Underworld, and of Magick. She is also considered the protectress of flocks, sailors and of course, witches. Hecate is the protectress of far-away places, roads, and byways. She is considered the goddess of crossroads. Statues of her stood at crossroads where travelers were faced with three choices.

In latter-day paganism, Hecterions (a form of pillar) depict the goddess with six arms, three torches and three sacred symbols: A Key, A Rope and A Dagger. With the Key to the underworld, Hecate unlocks the secrets of the occult mysteries and knowledge of afterlife. The Rope symbolizes the umbilical cord of rebirth and renewal and the Dagger or Athame is a symbol of ritual power.


Hecate belongs to the class of torch bearing deities, and carries a burning torch in accordance with the belief that she is the nocturnal goddess of the moon. A huntress, she knows her way into the realm of spirits. She is depicted wearing a gleaming headdress of stars. All the secret powers of nature are at her command. She has control over birth, life, and death. Her work includes the world of the dead (just a resting place of the dead), of the night and of the darkness. She is the mistress of all the witchcraft and black arts.

On her walks at night, Hecate has many accomplices. Her two black, ghostly dogs who have been sacrificed to her, (her priestesses Circe and Medea) are sometimes referred to as being her daughters. At night during the dark Moon, the goddess can be seen walking the roads of Greece with her howling dogs and torches. The black howling dogs at night mean that Hecate is approaching. She and her dogs journey over the graves of the dead to search for souls of the departed and then carry them to refuge in the Underworld. She also haunts scenes of crimes as a goddess of expiation and purification. She can be called on during the Dark of the Moon to banish or render justice. The women who worshipped her often stained their palms and soles of their feet with henna. An adoption of Halloween or Hallowmas held on October 31, is to honor Hecate at a time when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest. In private worship her followers prepare and partake of Hecate’s suppers and the leftovers are to be placed outdoors as offerings to her and her hounds.

from Sacred Source

Other Names and Titles

from http://inanna.virtualave.net/hekate.html(no longer active) The Hecate Page

Chtonian Earth (Underworld goddess); 
Crataeis (the Mighty One); 
Enodia (Goddess of the paths); 
Antania (Enemy of mankind); 
Kurotrophos (Nurse of the Children and Protectress of mankind); 
Artemis of the crossroads; 
Propylaia (the one before the gate); 
Propolos (the attendant who leads); 
Phosphoros (the light-bringer); 
Soteira ("Saviour"); 
Prytania (invincible Queen of the Dead); 
Trioditis (gr.) Trivia (latin: Goddess of Three Roads); 
Klêidouchos (Keeper of the Keys); 
Tricephalus or Triceps (The Three-Headed).

Correspondences for Hecate

Color: Black 
Moon Phase: Dark Moon 
Time: Midnight 
Stones: Black, such as jet, onyx and black obsidian 
Herbs: belladonna/nightshade, garlic, mints, mandrake, 
sandalwood, cypress, myrrh, patchouli, hemlock, wolfbane, 
azalea, lavender, monkshood, dandelion 
Trees: Almond, Willow 
Knowledge of: death, lunar magick, magical arts, wisdom, 
night, self 
Types of Workings: justice, banishings, protection, prophecy, 
divination, inner-self 

Hecate Incense and Oil

Hecate Incense: 3 parts Sandalwood, 2 parts Cypress (can be substituted with pine, ground), and 1 part Spearmint or Peppermint. Grind on the new moon.

Hecate Oil: 3 drops Myrrh, 2 drops Cypress (again can sub. pine oil, not Pine Sol), 1 drop Patchouli, and 1 dried Mint leaf. Start on the new moon and finish on the next one.

Graphic by Swampy

Hecate Ritual: Banishing Negativity In The Home
A Ritual for the Dark Moon

by Morgan Danae Stardancer

In this ritual you will be calling on Hecate in Her Crone aspect. It is performed during the Dark of the Moon. Some people are fearful of working with the Dark Moon and the Crone, but She is the wise protector who will take your negativity and transform it in her cauldron of change.

Begin by setting up your altar as you normally do for ritual, making sure you have a black candle and wine or water in your chalice in addition to anything else you use.

You will also need a cleansing, purifying incense and a censer or some kind of container which can be carried around your home. (I use a large shell to hold smoldering charcoal, or stick incense.)

It is best to set your altar on the floor for this rite, but you may do it however you feel most comfortable.

Cast your circle as you normally do.

When you are through, kneel before your altar and light the black candle.

With your arms held, palms upward, at your sides, call Hecate by saying three times:

Hecate, beautiful Crone of Night 
I call you here to put things right. 
Transform the negative thought and pain 
And help my life be whole again. (3x) 

Close your eyes. When you feel the presence of Hecate and know she is there to help you, open your eyes.

Bow your head to her to show your reverence, then take the chalice, saying:

"Lady of the Dark Moon, 
Share with me this wine. 
Bring your protection to 
Flood this life of mine. 
May the waters of your eternal womb 
Bring change most divine." 

Sip a small amount of the wine (or water), envisioning it as liquid energy, flowing to effect a positive change within and outside of you. Leave the rest as an offering to Hecate.

Light the purifying incense in the censer, cut a door in the Circle, and, beginning in the eastern-most corner of your home, smudge your home, going counter-clockwise.

Go into every closet, the bathroom, the garage - make sure your entire house is smudged. As you go, chant: Negativity be gone.

Come back into the Circle and visualize your entire house and yard bathed in a peaceful blue light. Since you have created a void by banishing the negativity, you will need to fill that void.

Now going deosil (clock-wise), re-trace your steps through the house, asking that good, protective spirits come into your home and that positive energies replace the negative ones that have just been banished. This is an important step, because if you don't fill the void with something good, the negativity will come right back.

Sometimes during such a ritual, I take one large and one small black stone and charge them to keep away negativity. I promise Hecate that the large one will remain in a prominent place in my house and that I will keep the small one with me at all times.

Thank the Goddess Hecate.

Meditate if you wish, visualizing your life free from negative happenings and feelings and full of love, prosperity, and happiness. Feel how She has changed your home and your life.

Close the Circle and know that it is done.

Resources

The Hecate Page http://inanna.virtualave.net/hekate.html, (no longer active)

Swampy's Hecate Page http://www.pinn.net/~swampy/hecate.html

Graphic by Swampy

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