Sisters
of the Burning Branch Goddess Gallery Presents...
Lady
Hecate
Copyright©,
1998 - 2007, Greg Crowfoot. All HTML and scripting is Copyright© 1998 -
2007, Edward Hall. All Rights Reserved. Last Modified: 09/19/2007
by
Summer Fey-Wülf
At night, particularly at
the dark of the moon, this goddess walked the roads of ancient Greece,
accompanied by sacred dogs and bearing a blazing torch.
Occasionally she stopped to gather offerings left by her devotees where
three roads crossed, for this threefold goddess was best honored where
one could look three ways at once. Sometimes, it was even
said that Hecate could look three ways because she had three
heads: a serpent, a horse, and a dog.
While Hecate walked
outdoors, her worshipers gathered inside to eat Hecate suppers in her
honor, gatherings at which magical knowledge was shared and the secrets
of sorcery whispered. The bitch-goddess, the snake-goddess,
ruled these powers and she bestowed them on those who worshiped her
honorably. When supper was over, the leftovers were placed
outdoors as offerings to Hecate and her hounds. And if the
poor of Greece gathered at the doorsteps of wealthier households to
snatch the offerings, what matter?
Some scholars say that Hecate was not
originally Greek, her worship having traveled south from her original
Thracian homeland. Others contend that she was a form of the
earth mother Demeter, yet another of whose forms
was the maiden Persephone. Legends,
they claim, of Persephone's abduction and later residence in Hades give
clear prominence to Hecate, who therefore must represent the old wise
woman, the crone, the final stage of woman's growth -- the aged Demeter
herself, just as Demeter is the mature Persephone.
In either case, the
antiquity of Hecate's worship was recognized by the Greeks, who called
her a Titan, one of 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. Hecate's
worship continued into classical times, both in the private form of
Hecate suppers and in public sacrifices, celebrated by "great ones" or
Caberioi, of honey, black female lambs, and dogs, and sometimes black
human slaves.
As queen of the night, Hecate was
sometimes said to be the moon-goddess in her dark form, as Artemis
was the waxing moon and Selene the full
moon. But she may as readily have been the earth-goddess, for
she ruled the spirits of the dead, humans who had been returned to the
earth. As queen of death she ruled the magical powers of
regeneration; in addition, she could hold back her spectral hordes from
the living if she chose. And so Greek women evoked Hecate for
protection from her hosts whenever they left the house, and they
erected her threefold images at their doors, as if to tell wandering
spirits that therein lived friends of their queen, who must not be
bothered with night noises and spooky apparitions.
~
The Book of Goddesses & Heroines by Patricia
Monaghan
This
is a virtual temple of Hecate and very interesting to go through.
Hecate,
Goddess of the Crossroads
I sit in the
blackness of the
dark moon night
with my hounds
at the crossroads
where three roads converge
at the crossroads
the place of choice
All paths lead to the crossroads
and all are desirable
but only one can you travel
only one can you choose
choice creates endings
and all beginnings come from endings
at the crossroads
Which one will you choose?
which way will you go?
which?
though the choice is yours
there's a secret I'll share
The way to choose is to enter the void
the way to choose is to let die
the way to choose is to fly free
The
Mythology
Hecate (pronounced
he-ka'tay) is considered by some to be a Thracian moon
Goddess and by others to an ancient pre-Greek Goddess of midwives,
birth,
fertility, the dark of the moon, magic, wealth, education, ceremonies,
and
the Underworld. Worshipped at the places where three roads crossed, she
would walk abroad on nights when the moon was dark, attended by a pack
of
hounds. People honored her by leaving offerings at the crossroads. As
crone
she also formed a triad with Persephone (maiden) and Demeter (mother).
The
Lessons of this Goddess
Hecate meets you
at the crossroads when you must make a choice. Times of
choice are not easy times. The challenges presented by choice
necessitate a
leap of faith from the person doing the choosing. Hecate says to let go
of
the idea that there are wrong or right choices: there is just choice.
Have
you been putting off making a choice because it seems to be too
overwhelming
or a "no win" situation? Does the choice bring up fear of the unknown?
Does
it seem better and/or easier to remain with what you know?
Sometimes a choice
must be made, yet you are not ready in such cases, the
way to nurture wholeness is to acknowledge where you are and let it go.
Trust that you will be able to make a choice when the time is right.
Give
yourself time and space. Don't press, berate, or blame yourself. You
need
nourishment here. When you let go, suddenly clarity comes to show you
what
you need. The Goddess urges you to enbrace the unknown. Know that
whatever
you choose will bring you something invaluable that you can use on your
path
to wholeness.
From the Goddess
Oracle By Amy Sophia Marashinsky
Hecate Invocation
Goddess
of the crossroads, Goddess of manic-depression, dweller in the deep
places of the earth and mind, traveler in the land between
worlds! Torchbearer! Protectress of the very old
and very
young; protectress of those used and abused; healer of those who are
torn apart; she will be there for us when we call on her and at the end.
Grandmother
to lost children and the downtrodden. Nurse to the suckling
infant, comfort to the lone man or woman in the darkest
night.
She who seeks vengeance for her children who are wronged!
Wanderer
and prowler! Sorceress who lives at the edge of the
mind.
Drawer-up of the secret compost from the unused internal
well.
She who has no relatives on the earth save for her children.
Without mother or sister.
Lady
on the brink, both bi-polar and uni-polar! They call her mad,
and
it is she who terrifies the disbeliever and the unworthy!
Bringer
of nightmares! But she it is who soothes the sleepless and
disheveled spirit.
Mother
of night! Dark power of the moon! Keeper of the
shadow! Walker of the endless highways! She unites
those
who follow her as her children: the hekite.
Bearer
of the sacred poppy. Shape-shifter.
Transformer.
Keeper of the hounds of hel and the three-headed dog cerebus!
She
walks abroad in the hour of the wolf and under the dark moon!
Hear
my call, o lady hecate, and cover us with your starry cloak.
Let
the unborn moon seed in my heart this night. And let her
growing
light shine upon our intention; that she be at our full
deliverance!
So mote it be!
(I
have had this invocation for so long I don't know where it came
from. It's hanging on my wall and it's also in my paper book
of
shadows, but there is no reference from where it came. I use
it
during every ritual I do in honor of the lady hecate.)
Dark-of-the-Moon
Ritual to Hecate
Cast
the Circle
Call the Quarters
Recite the Invocation to Hecate
Ask of Her any releasing or negative things needed to happen
Thank Her for Her presence and release Her
Thank the Quarters for Their presence and release Them
Close the Circle
In deepest night, in forest deep,
In broad daylight, awake, asleep,
I am a Witch at every hour,
Touching magick, wielding power.
~Amber K , "I Am A Witch"
This page is the intellectual and creative property of Summer
Fey-Wülf
February
2011