Hecate / Hekate

The Most Lovely One, Worker from Afar, Three-Headed Hound of the Moon, Influence from Afar, The One Before the Gate, Light Bringer

Hecate, also known as Hekate, is one of the most powerful and mysterious goddesses of the ancient world. She is Queen of the Night, Goddess of Witchcraft, Lady of the Crossroads, and one of the great rulers of the Spirit World.

She patrols the frontier between life and death. She serves as an intermediary between spirits and humans, standing at the threshold between the visible and invisible worlds. Hekate owns the ultimate skeleton key: the key that unlocks the gates to all realms.

Although she is now most strongly associated with Greek mythology, her name, meaning “influence from afar,” acknowledges her foreign origins. She may have originated in what is now Georgia on the Black Sea, the land associated with Medea, her most famous devotee and priestess. Hecuba, Queen of Troy, is another well-known devotee. At one time, Hekate was the chief deity of Caria, now in western Turkey. The Greeks knew her as a Titan’s daughter and as the confidante and handmaiden of Persephone, Queen of the Dead.

Goddess of Life, Death, Regeneration and Magic

Hekate is a goddess of life, death, regeneration and magic. She rules wisdom, choices, expiation, victory, vengeance and travel. She is the witness to every crime.

She is invoked for justice, especially for sexual crimes against women and girls. She is called when justice is not forthcoming from other channels. She has the power to grant or deny any mortal’s wish.

Hekate may be invoked for protection for dogs and from dogs. She is petitioned for fertility, especially for female children. She brings victory in battle. She may be invoked for healing, especially if medical solutions have failed. She may be petitioned for swift, painless death. She can banish ghosts, but she can also produce a ghost infestation.

Hecate has three major aspects: goddess of fertility and plenty, goddess of the moon, and queen of the night, ghosts and shades. In her moon-goddess aspect, she is often part of a trinity with Selene and Diana or Artemis.

Hekate in Myth

Hekate is an exceptionally powerful spirit. The Theogony of Hesiod describes Hekate as honoured by Zeus above all others.

According to myth, Hekate once served as an Angelos, a messenger for the other deities. She stole Hera’s beauty salve to give to Hera’s rival, Europa. Hera, enraged, pursued Hekate, who fled first to the bed of a woman in childbirth, then to a funeral procession, and finally to Lake Acheron in Hades, where she was cleansed by the Cabeiri.

Hekate emerged more powerful than ever: a goddess of birth, death and purification. She rules passages between realms of life and death and is therefore invoked by necromancers.

Queen of the Night

Hecate possesses infernal power. She roams the earth at night with a pack of red-eyed hell hounds and a retinue of dead souls. She is visible only to dogs, and if dogs howl in the night, it means Hecate is near.

She is associated with nightmares, madness, ghosts and the terrifying powers of the unseen world. Because of this, many ancients referred to her only as “The Nameless One.”

Yet Hecate is not simply a goddess of destruction. She is the goddess of the dark of the moon, the destroyer of life but also the restorer of life. In one myth, she turns into a bear or boar and kills her own son, then brings him back to life. This myth reflects her deeper power over death, return, transformation and regeneration.

In her dark aspect, she wears a necklace made of testicles. Her hair is made of writhing snakes which petrify, like Medusa.

Hecate and Witchcraft

As the goddess of all forms of magic and witchcraft, Hecate was far more important in antiquity than the mythical sorceress Circe, who was sometimes said to be her daughter, or the witch Medea, also sometimes said to be Hecate’s daughter, who helped Jason steal the Golden Fleece.

Hekate is renowned for her expertise with plants and her knowledge of their magical and healing powers. A famed magical garden was attached to her temple in Colchis on the Black Sea, now in modern Georgia. Some scholars suggest that an ancient Greek women’s guild, under the divine matronage of Hekate, once had responsibility for gathering and storing visionary, hallucinatory and poisonous plants.

The same word in Greek indicates “pharmacist,” “poisoner” and “witch.” This reveals the ancient connection between healing, danger, plant knowledge and magical power.

Hecate has been associated with incantations, sacrifices and rituals throughout history. In modern Witchcraft, she is usually associated with the lunar trinity and the Triple Goddess. She rules over the waning and dark moon, a two-week period that is especially suited to magic dealing with banishing, releasing, planning and introspection. She is also invoked for justice.

Goddess of the Crossroads

Hecate is the goddess of all crossroads. She looks in three directions at the same time, seeing past, present and future; life, death and rebirth; the road taken, the road refused and the road still hidden.

In ancient times, three-headed statues of her were set up at many intersections. Secret rites were performed under the full moon to appease her. Statues of Hecate carrying torches or swords were also erected in front of homes to keep evil spirits at bay.

The crossroads is one of her most sacred places because it represents choice, destiny, danger and spiritual passage. Hekate is the goddess one calls upon when standing between worlds, between decisions, between endings and beginnings.

Hekate typically responds to petitions through visions and dreams. If lost at a crossroads, literal or metaphoric, invoke her name and then pay attention to signs from her. She can be a shadowy, oblique goddess. Her response may be subtle. Look for her animals: snakes, dragons, cats and especially dogs.

Offerings and Ancient Rites

In ancient times, people sought to appease Hecate by leaving chicken hearts and honey cakes outside their doors. On the last day of the month, offerings of honey, onions, fish and eggs were left at crossroads, along with sacrifices of puppies, infant girls and she-lambs.

Sorcerers gathered at crossroads to pay homage to her and to such infernal servants as the Empusa, a hobgoblin; the Cercopsis, a poltergeist; and the Mormo, a ghoul.

Hecate’s ancient devotees also held dinners in her honour, often known as Hekate Suppers. Food was prepared and offered to the goddess and her hounds. Offerings left at the crossroads or outside the home were sometimes consumed by dogs, wanderers or the poor, which in itself may have been understood as part of the offering.

Hecate in Modern Witchcraft

In modern Witchcraft, Hecate is often approached as a goddess of the Triple Goddess current, especially in her dark moon and crone aspects. She rules the waning moon, the dark moon, the hidden path, the spirit threshold and the moment of magical decision.

She is invoked in workings of banishing, release, protection, justice, shadow work, necromancy, dream work and spiritual crossroads. She is not a soft or decorative goddess. She is a presence of power, severity, wisdom and transformation.

Hecate does not merely illuminate the path. She asks whether the seeker has the courage to walk it.

Conclusion

Hecate is not simply a moon goddess, a witch goddess or a goddess of ghosts. She is the guardian of thresholds, the keeper of keys, the watcher of crossroads and the ruler of the liminal places where transformation begins.

She belongs to the night, but she is also called Light Bringer. She is feared as The Nameless One, yet invoked as protector, healer and guide. She destroys, restores, reveals and conceals. She stands where roads divide and where souls must choose.

To understand Hecate is to understand that magic often begins at the edge: the edge of certainty, the edge of fear, the edge of the known world.

ALSO KNOWN AS:

Hekate

ORIGIN:

Asia Minor

FAVOURED PEOPLE:

Midwives, witches, healers, herbalists, dog lovers and rescuers; she is the matron of women in general and protects those who ride horses.

Manifestations:

Hekate, Queen Witch, is a shape-shifter supreme: usual manifestations are as a black dog or mature woman. She may manifest as a haggard, decrepit crone or a sexy, elegant, seductive woman. She even has an occasional mermaid manifestation. She may wear snakes in her hair. Every once in a while she appears as a black cat, snake, or dragon.

ICONOGRAPHY:

Hekate is portrayed with three bodies, each facing a different direction. Alternatively, she is depicted with a woman’s body but three animal heads: those of a dog, horse, and lion. A statue of Hekate from the eighth century BCE shows her with wings, carrying a snake.

ATTRIBUTES:

Key, torch, cauldron, knife, broom

Emblem:

Star and crescent moon

Spirit allies:

Hekate may be venerated alongside Artemis, Persephone, Demeter, and/or Kybele. Hekate dances in the entourage of Dionysus.

Sacred animals:

Snakes, toads, dragons, cats, but most especially dogs: Hekate has an extremely powerful bond with dogs: even when manifesting in human form, she is usually accompanied by a pair of hounds. If appearing without dogs, Hekate may circle in canine fashion. Somehow there will be a canine reference.

Bird:

Stork

Mount:

Dragons pull her chariot.

COLOUR:

Black

Number:

Celestial bodies:

Sirius the Dog Star; the moon, especially the Dark Moon phase

Plants:

Garlic, lavender, mandrake, henna

Trees:

Pomegranate; black poplar; date palm; yew

Sacred site:

Three-way or T-shaped crossroads; Hekate was a goddess with an organized cult. In addition to Caria and Colchis, she had sanctuaries in Aigina and Lagina and a grove on the Aventine hill. She is the matron goddess and guardian of the city of Istanbul (previously called Byzantium and Constantinople). Hekate is credited with saving that city from attack by King Philip II of Macedonia in 304 BCE. His forces attempted to attack secretly during a dark moon but Hekate lit a crescent moon, creating enough light for the Byzantines to apprehend their danger and save themselves. In gratitude, they began using her symbols (star and crescent moon) on their coins. The image still appears on the Turkish flag. The image predates Islam and was the official emblem of Byzantine Greeks.

Time:

Night time is the right time for Hekate: she only accepts offerings and petitions at night. All festivities, rituals, and ceremonies in her honour are held after dark. The only acceptable illumination is candles or torches.

Sacred dates:

The last day of each month is dedicated to Hekate.

• In Italy, Hekate shared a festival with Diana on 13 August.

• A Friday the 13th in August is especially sacred.

• 16 November is Hekate Night for modern Wiccans and Neo-Pagans.

Rituals:

Hekate’s ancient devotees held dinners in her honour known as Hekate Suppers. Foods associated with her were prepared. The entrée was usually fish, especially red mullet. Devotees feasted and celebrated. Offerings and leftovers were placed outside the door or at a crossroads for Hekate and her hounds. Even way back when, cynics scoffed that food placed outside was actually consumed by feral dogs and homeless people without realizing that this is Hekate’s intent: this is one way she accepts offerings. (The Church was still trying to eradicate this ritual as late as the eleventh century.)

Smaller, private offerings may be left at a crossroads, too:

Place offerings on a plate or flat stone and leave them at a crossroads after dark.

Make your invocation and then walk away without looking back.

Do not return for the plate but consider it part of the offering. (In other words, don’t use a plate you wish to keep.) Encountering or hearing a dog is an indication that your petition has been heard.

OFFERINGS:

Eggs, garlic, and honey (especially lavender honey); croissants and crescent shaped breads and pastries; candles; incense; images of dogs, especially black dogs; actions on behalf of dogs

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Hecate stands at the crossroads.

The question is: will you remain outside the gate, or will you step through it?

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