30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 18

18. How does this deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality? (historical and/or UPG)

Hekate has traditionally been the Goddess of Outcasts. Protector of those that society by and large shun. This includes witches who have faced persecution over time, the LGBTQQIAP community, the mentally ill, etc. MANY priestesses, including Hekate's Semnotatoi, the "Revered ones of the Goddess". These assigned male at birth misgendered priestesses told fortunes, practiced magic and cared for Her sacred places/temples. Some of them were even ritually castrated. She was also served by assigned female at birth misgendered priests and cisgendered priests and priestesses. Her priesthood  (the Demosioi), in addition to horoscopes, spell work and maintaining the sacred temples and groves, also led processions in which children clad in flower garlands sung hymns of praise to Hekate. They served the patron goddess of thetemenoa, of magic, and of all those who live on the edge.

Hekate isn't the only ancient deity to follow this practice either. Cybele is associated with transformed priestesses, her gallae, Isis had gender-variant priestesses, often self-emasculated, they danced and performed magical rites with the other devotees as viewed on a marble relief at Ariccia. These devotee were called cinaedi. Hera also had gender variant priestesses who dwelt on the island of Samos. Ma-Enyo from Asia Minor was served by thousands of hierodules known as fanatici carried double-axe emblems in procession and used a whirling dance to achieve states of ecstasy, the latter tradition remains today in the dervishes of Konya. Roman Goddess Bellona becamr syncretized with Ma-Enyo. Aphrodite's priestesses also crossed the boundary between the sexes. Venus Castina became the patroness of Roman males who were born with a woman's soul. Diana was served by two kinds of priestesses, the melissai "honeybees", and the remarkable assigned male at birth misgendered Megabyzes, these gender-variant priestesses commonly served as makers of magic amulets, telling fortunes through the casting of Ephesian runes.

Hekate does not care how you identify or who you're attracted to. You can be straight, lesbian, gay, bi, misgendered, curious and questioning, intersex, asexual, pansexual, etc. She wants you to be you.

Personally, I'm a cis gendered female who married a man and most of my sexual partners (99%) have been male. I am not sure 100% how I'd identify truthfully as I've fooled around with females but I don't actively prefer or seek them out. I identify as straight but every so often. I also have several non straight relatives and friends and one of my own children identifies as non-straight. Just like my Lady, I welcome all and will fight for each of them.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 17

17. How does Hekate relate to other Gods and other pantheons?

I find it kind of hard to relate to Hekate with other deity since in my worship she's not a triple goddess or really as working super close with any. I know from history that She worked WITH several deity over time and especially with the concept of triple goddess She is linked to several too.

Triple Goddess (it really grinds my gears when Hekate winds up the Crone in everything).

Artemis, Selene and Hecate - were said to represent one deity in different states.
 
Isis - was also linked to Hekate in many ways, "Hecate is one of the many titles of "Isis the great Hecate" and "the mother-goddess Isis, the great Hecate."

Bendis: A Thracian Goddess associated with Artemis, Selene and Hecate.

She's been linked to several more over time but those are a couple to start.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 16

16. How does Hekate represent the values of Her pantheon and cultural origins?

It's kind of hard to go into her cultural origins since her origins can't be 100% pinpointed. Some give her origins as Macedonia, Thrace, Caria, some say she was an Egyptian Goddess Heqet.

Over the years she's gained attributes from the various places and people that have worshipped her. The Greeks called Her a guardian and She guarded their homes, Goddess of Witchcraft and Magic, of those "other". The protector of every newborn. The Romans called her Trivia. That's also where the Hecate/Hekate split comes from. Some pagans (particularly wiccans) view her as a Crone, and some also view Her as a triple goddess. She is ever evolving and gains new attributes all the time.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 15

15. Hekate in my “mundane” life

I've had a lot of instances in my life where I felt the need to have a deity to lean on, where I needed to be strong, to have strength, where I needed to fight for myself and I felt like the deity I was looking for wasn't there. I've mentioned before that I've always felt called to paganism but was too afraid to really reach for it and fully embrace it until more recently. In all these instances, I felt totally alone. Turns out, I was looking in all the wrong places and should've braced my path from the beginning.

Now that I have, I feel even stronger. Having faced all of that seemingly alone, and survived or pushed through the struggle, I feel even more courage now that I KNOW I have Her to guide me. I don't feel that emptiness anymore. It's so, isolating hearing all of your friends or family talk about how wonderful they feel and singing the praises of their specific deity and how much that deity has done for them, or even their trials and outcomes and wondering why you have never, not one single time felt like that. I get it know. I can feel Her presence the way I've never felt the other, and it truly is amazing.

Even now I'm still evolving, trying to better myself to be worthy of my Lady. I feel like a better person even when I'm struggling. Which I do still struggle, I've felt anguish and anxiety and disappointment since finding Her, but I feel the strength to push through more readily, like I can do it. I've found where I belong.

For 11/26/15

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 14

14. Has worship of this deity changed in modern times?

I think it's safe to say the worship of ALL deity have changed over the years. Life has evolved over the past millenia. It's just a fact of life. Even taking worship out of the equation, look back to what life looked like in countries all over the world 2000 years ago, how different from that it was 1000 years ago, again 500 years ago and even 50 years ago. We are constantly changing and while we may retain some or even most characteristics from the generation before us, things are different.

The same is true of worshipping deity. Today more places are pretty diverse, while a region might be predominantly one religion, it's likely that there's a couple others here and there. My city for instance is largely southern baptist, it's the religion I was raised in, most churches around here are SB. There are however, almost as many methodist churches, a catholic church (and school), a Russian orthodox church, a synagogue and a Unitarian Universalist. Those are the ones I've seen personally or been to. My city is small but not tiny, smaller cities may have even less. In decades/millenia past, whole cities followed one pantheon or deity. Greeks followed the Greek Pantheon, Romans the Roman Pantheon, Egyptians the Egyptian Pantheon, etc. Wars have been fought over religion. Still are truth be told. But for the most part, several religions live and worship in the same general location. It's like watching the world evolve in front of your eyes. Growing and evolving.

Even if you wanted to worship Hekate in the EXACT same way as the ancients did, it's nearly, if not totally, impossible. A lot of information has survived over the years but some things were lost. Hellenic Reconstructionists generally spend a lot of time familiarizing themselves with the knowledge that remains, information that has been passed down, and theories that have been developed over the centuries. This is how they form their modern practice. But again, it may be closer than some others but it's not identical.

It's also a bit different in that while, if you can find a group of like minded pagans, you can perform semi public rites but mostly you're not going to get the majority of your city to show up in the temple square, most ancient temples are completely gone, turned into Christian places of worship or are little more than basic rubble and ruins. I can't walk (or drive) down the street to a magnificent temple to my patroness. If I had the means (financially for example) I could perhaps build one, and there ARE modern sanctuary, just not exactly the same or as wide spread.

Many modern pagans and especially wiccans have strayed from much of the ancient ways and instead fit the two together in a more modern way. Wicca especially is a fairly recent path vastly different from even the ancient Greeks in terms of their rites and rituals. These days we give offerings in much the same way except locationally we might not be able to offer the same exact things as readily though we can order a lot from all over easier than say, 500 years ago. Most modern pagans that I know of also do not sacrifice animals anymore either, granted, several ancients preferred to "sacrifice" representations instead of actual living animals but it did happen much more than modern worshipers.

Other ancient practices *can* be done, just again, differently than how it was done. You can go to a sanctuary if you're near one or make a trip if you have the means. You can offer animals, already killed animals and/or their blood from butchers. You can chant and sing hymns and pray publically to your deity, though you'll probably face some funny looks by some of the less ... open minded. I kind of wish I had a big group of Hekateans and a local santuary. I can just imagine the celebrations. Nostalgia is in full force.

For 11/25/15

We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Program

I got off track due to a massive allergy attack (think inhaler, benedryl, the whole nine) that put me to sleep for the last half of the day. I'm try to get caught up between Thanksgiving festivities today (it's after 2 AM) but if not I'll have a WHOLE lot of catching up to do late this evening and Friday.

I managed to get a full moon rite and a devotional hymn in but that's about it.

In the interim, I'm wide awake sitting on the edge of my bed enjoying my furry baby Nyx trying to burrow into the blankets where my husband is sleeping. Nyx has a thing for hours and hours of blanket burrowing and face nudging at night then around 6-7 AM runs off somewhere.

Goodnight friends.
Bright Blessings!
~ Calypso
🌕

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 13

13. What modern cultural issues are closest to this deity’s heart?

This one I'm kind of iffy on. If you feel called to something in Hekate’s name then I would say that is something she is holding dear.

As for me, well I've always been an animal lover, and animals are sacred to Hekate. I help out as much as possible with a family members dog rescue with fostering or providing transport or menial tasks in the office. I've also fostered cats or again transport, taken in abandoned kittens because I have a mama cat and can syringe feed. I had 9 cats/kittens this past month on top of my dachshund. I'd take in more if I had the room. Especially that little fluffy orange one that follows me up the sidewalk nearly every night. I still may, it's getting cold and I'm not sure if it has anywhere to stay warm. Or at least I may make an insulated box for it to hunker down in.

It is also said that Hekate protects those that society shuns, thieves, prostitutes, begars, witches, etc and that some of her priest(esses) were trans or the like. My voice may be small and I can't do much but I'm an ally to all those who are oppressed, against family, friends, strangers, etc. I can't do much in the grand scheme of things but I don't tolerate any of that around me. My blood pressure is really suffering these days.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 12

12. Places associated with this deity and their worship

There are several modern sactuary all over the world and more purportedly being set up. The Covenant of Hekate have several, in Wiltshire, UK; Lugo, Spain; Melbourne, Australia; Indiana, USA; Cheshire, UK; Southern Spain; London, England UK; Aerzen, Lower Saxony, Germany; and Glastonbury, UK.

I'm currently following one in North Carolina that is trying to get up and running since it's not too far from me. Not exactly close but I could make infrequent trips.

Ancient Cults: (these are mainly direct quotes from translations so it's basically a bunch of copy and paste from theoi)

Athens - Chief city of Attika - Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.30.2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.):
"It was Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made three images of Hekate attached to one another, a figure called by the Athenians Epipurgidia (on the Tower); it stands beside the temple of Nike Apteron (Wingless Victory) [on the Akropolis]."

Eleusis in Attika - Hekate was one of the chief goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries. Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 280 ff (trans. O'Neill) (Greek comedy C5th to 4th B.C.):
"[Description of the Thesmophoria festival held in honour of the Great Goddesses, Demeter and Persephone:]
Woman Herald: Silence! Silence! Pray to the Thesmophorai, Demeter and Koura [Persephone]; pray to Ploutos, Kalligeneia, Kourotrophos [Hekate], Ge (the Earth), Hermes and the Kharites (Graces), that all may happen for the best at this gathering, both for the greatest advantage of Athens and for our own personal happiness! May the award be given her who, by both deeds and words, has most deserved it from the Athenian people and from the women! Address these prayers to heaven and demand happiness for yourselves. Io Paean! Io Paean! Let us rejoice!"

Aigina - Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.30.2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.):
"Of the gods, the Aiginetans worship most Hekate, in whose honour every year they celebrate mystic rites which, they say, Orpheus the Thrakian established among them. Within the enclosure is a temple; its wooden image is the work of Myron, and it has one face and one body. It was Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made three images of Hekate attached to one another [in Athens]."

Titane in Sikyonia - Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.11.8 :
"In the portico [of the temple of Askepios at Titane, Sikyonia] are dedicated images of Dionysos and Hekate, with Aphrodite, the Mater Theon (Mother of the Gods), and Tykhe (Fortune). These are wooden."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.12.1:
"In Titane there is also a sanctuary of Athena, into which they bring up the image of Koronis [mother of Asklepios] . . . The sanctuary is built upon a hill, at the bottom of which is an Altar of the Winds, and on it the priest sacrifices to the winds one night in every year. He also performs other secret rites [of Hekate] at four pits, taming the fierceness of the blasts [of the winds], and he is said to chant as well the charms of Medea."

Argos Chief City of Argolis - Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.22.7:
"[In Argos] near the Lords [shrine of the Dioskouroi] is a sanctuary of Eilethyia, dedicated by Helene when, Theseus having gone away with Peirithoos to Thesprotia, Aphidna had been captured by the Dioskouroi and Helene was being brought to Lakedaimon. For it is said that she was with child, was delivered In Argos, and founded there the sanctuary of Eilethyia, giving the daughter she bore [Iphigeneia] to Klytaimnestra, who was already wedded to Agamemnon, while she herself subsequently married Menelaos . . . Over against the sanctuary of Eilethyia is a temple of Hekate [the goddess probably here identified with the apotheosed Iphigeneia], and the image is a work of Skopas. This one is of stone, while the bronze images opposite, also of Hekate, were made respectively by Polykleitos and his brother Naukydes."

Pherai kn Thessalia - Lycophron, Alexandra 1174 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.):
"Brimo Trimorphos [Hekate] . . . appeasing the goddess of Pherai with sacrifice."

Haimos and Strymon Mountain and River in Thrake - Hekate was closely identified with the Thrakian goddess Bendis. Lycophron, Alexandra 1174 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.):
"Brimo Trimorphos [Hekate] . . . queen of Strymon."

Ovid, Fasti 1. 389 ff (trans. Boyle) (Roman poetry C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"I have seen Sapaeans [a Thrakian tribe] and your snow dwellers, Haemus [mountain in Thrake], offer the guts of dogs to Trivia [Hekate]."

Zerynthia Mountain and Cave of Samothrake - Lycophron, Alexandra 74 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.):
"Zerynthos [on the island of Samothrake], cave of the goddess to whom dogs are slain [Hekate]."

Lycophron, Alexandra 1174 ff:
"The maiden daughter of Perseus, Brimo Trimorphos (Three-formed), shall make thee [Hekabe queen of Troy] her attendant [Hekabe was transformed into a dog], terrifying with thy baying in the night all mortals who worship not with torches the images of Zerynthia [Hekate] queen of Strymon, appeasing the goddess of Pherai with sacrifice."

Strabo, Geography 10. 3. 20 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.):
"Some, however, believe that the Kouretes were the same as the Korybantes and were ministers of Hekate [in the Mysteries of Samothrake]."

Strabo, Geography 10.3.10:
"Now most of the Greeks assigned to Dionysos, Apollon, Hekate, the Mousai, and above all to Demeter, everything of an orgiastic or Bakkhic or choral nature, as well as the mystic element in initiations . . . And branch-bearing, choral dancing, and initiations are common elements in the worship of these gods."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 3. 61 ff (trans. Rouse) (Greek epic C5th A.D.):
"Already the bird of morning was cutting the air with loud cries [on the island of Samothrake]; already the helmeted bands of desert-haunting Korybantes were beating on their shields in the Knossian dance, and leaping with rhythmic steps, and the oxhides thudded under the blows of the iron as they whirled them about in rivalry, while the double pipe made music, and quickened the dancers with its rollicking tune in time to the bounding steps. Aye, and the trees whispered, the rocks boomed, the forests held jubilee with their intelligent movings and shakings, and the Dryades did sing. Packs of bears joined the dance, skipping and wheeling face to face; lions with a roar from emulous throats mimicked the triumphant cry of the priests of the Kabeiroi, sane in their madness; the revelling pipes rang out a tune to honour of Hekate, divine friend of dogs, those single pipes, which the horn-polisher’s art invented in Kronos’s days."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 4. 184 ff:
"Grottoes of the Kabeiroi and Korybantian cliffs [on the island of Samothrake] . . . the revelling companies of my mother’s [Elektra, queen of the island of Samothrake,] Hekate with their torches in the night."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 13. 400 ff:
"Zerynthos [on the island of Samothrake] of the unresting Korybantes, the foundation of renowned Perseis [Hekate], where the rocks are thronged with torchbearing mystics of the Maid."

Nonnus, Dionysiaca 29. 213 ff:
"[The Kabeiros] Alkon grasped a fiery bolt in one hand, and swung about a festal torch of Hekate from his own country [i.e. Samothrake]."

Suidas s.v. Zerynthia (trans. Suda On Line) (Byzantine Greek lexicon C10th A.D.):
"Zerynthia : . . . Also Zerinthian cave, where they used to sacrifice dogs. There the mysteries of the Korybantes [Kabeiroi] and of Hekate took place."

Suidas s.v. All' ei tis humôn en Samothraikei memuemenos esti:
"In Samothrake there were certain initiation-rites, which they supposed efficacious as a charm against certain dangers. In that place were also the mysteries of the Korybantes [Kabeiroi] and those of Hekate and the Zerinthian cave, where they sacrificed dogs. The initiates supposed that these things save [them] from terrors and from storms."

Psamite Islet near Delos - Hekate was worshipped on Psamite an islet in the vicinity of Delos. Some accounts have this island as a metamorphosed body of her mothee Asteria.

Suidas s.v. Hekates nesou:
"Hekates nesou (of the island of Hekate) : On the approach to Delos lies a certain islet, which some call Psamite. They say that it is called this because the goddess is honoured with psamita. A psamiton is a particular kind of cake."

Rhodes - Suidas s.v. Asphodelos:
"Asphodelos (Asphodel): A bulbous plant, having long leaves and an edible stem; and its seed when roasted and the root chopped up with figs fetches a high price. [It is] sacred to Persephone and the underworld [deities]. Also Rhodians wreath Kore [Persephone] and Artemis [Hekate] with asphodel."

Ephesos city in Ionia/Lydia - Strabo, Geography 14.1.23 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.):
"They [the priests of the temple of Artemis at Ephesos] showed me also some of the works of Thrason, who made the Hekatesion (Shrine of Hekate)."

Kolophon in Ionia/Lydia - Pausanias, Description of Greece 3.14.9 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.):
"I know of no other Greeks [than the Spartans sacrifices to Enyalios] who are accustomed to sacrifice puppies except the people of Kolophon; these too sacrifice a puppy, a black bitch, to Enodia (of the Wayside) [Hekate]. Both the sacrifice of the Kolophonians and that of the youths at Sparta are appointed to take place at night."

Lagina, Karia/Caria - Strabo, Geography 14.2.15 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.):
"Stratonikeia [in Karia, Asia Minor] is a settlement of Makedonians . . . There are two temples in the country of the Stratonikeians, of which the most famous, that of Hekate, is at Lagina; and it draws great festal assemblies every year."

This one happens to be a favorite of mine for some reason and is on my bucket list.

R. Halys River in Paphlagonia - Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4. 245 ff (trans. Rieu) (Greek epic C3rd B.C.):
"They [the Argonauts] made fast their stern cables on the Paphlagonian coast at the mouth of the River Halys. Medea had told them to land there and propitiate Hekate with a sacrifice. But with what ritual she prepared the offering, no one must hear. Nor must I let myself be tempted to describe it; my lips are sealed by awe. But the altar they built for the goddess on the beach is still there for men of a later age to see."

Pakhynos in Sikelia (Sicily) - Lycophron, Alexandra 1174 ff (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.):
"[The goddess Hekate] shall make thee [Hekabe queen of Troy] her attendant [after her transformation into a dog] . . . And the island spur of Pakhynos [in Sikelia] shall hold thine [Hekabe’s] awful cenotaph, piled by the hands of thy master [Odysseus], prompted by dreams when thou hast gotten the rites of death in front of the streams of Heloros. He [Odysseus] shall pour on the shore offerings for thee, unhappy one, fearing the anger of the three-necked goddess [Hekate], for that he shall hurl the first stone at thy stoning and begin the dark sacrifice to Haides."
And more.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 11

11. Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity.

Deipnon - traditionally celebrated on the dark moon of every month from sundown to sundown. Traditionally the day is spent cleaning the home, yourself (both spiritually and physically), offerings include food stuffs (mentioned in several other places), libations of wine or mead, collections from your cleanings, dust etc are all left at the crossroads. You also empty your Kathiskos each Deipnon and begin filling it each Noumenia.

Noumenia - The first day of the lunar month, this is the time to honor the deities of your home/practice which in our case, includes Hekate and ask for blessings for the coming month. This was the second of 3 Hellenic festivals each lunar cycle held in a row (the third being Agathós Daímōn). In the words of Plutarch, Noumenia was THE holiest of days. No other religious festivals are allowed on this day.

Festival of Kourotrophos (κουροτρόφος, child nurturer) the annual festival of Kourotrophos that occurs in August around the time if the full moon (the 15th or 16th of Metagetinion) in honor of the Kourotrophos goddesses. I've found conflicting information on how many times this was done. Many list it as just in August, some in February and August, and another in February  (3 days before the dark moon), June (3 days after the new moon), and August  (3 days after the full moon).

Thesmophoria - a 3 day festival in the Greek month Pyanepsion (October) held to ensure fertile land and good harvest. Only women who were married to citizens were allowed to participate. Women started preparing for the festival nine days before the start of Thesmophoria. During this time, they abstained from sexual intercourse, slept alone and ate garlic to keep the men away.

Day one of the festival, Anodos (which means Uprise), they buried pig carcasses in a large pit and unearthed the carcass buried the year before.

On day two, Nesteia (Fasting), the women fasted, only partaking of pomegranate seeds. Rotten pig flesh and seeds were mixed and left on the alter there. They spent most of the day in silence until sunset, at which point the fast and silence was broken with ritual cakes shaped as female genitalia.

Day three, Kalligeneia (Fair Birth), is spent reflecting the fertility of women. They sang ritual songs, the older women took the offering from the previous day and then they each buried a portion in the fields.

August 13 - Some have referred to this night as Hekate’s Night  (which is November 16) as well. This is a modern construct by those who wish to worship Hekate’s more volatile nature. It began from Nemoralia, the Festival of Torches, the chief Roman festival in honor of the Goddess Diana Nemorensis (Diana of Nemi) who is occasional associated with/as Hekate or in a triple Goddess/triad with Hekate. Worshipers would form a procession bearing torches around the waters of Lake Nemi. Hunting or killing any beast is forbidden on Nemoralia.

October 31st - Samhain - While this sabbat isn't directly tied to Hekate, this is a celebration of the dead and of our Ancestors and many turn towards deity that deal with death, ghosts and the Underworld, of which, Hekate fits this bill (along with several others). Also, being my patroness, I turn to Hekate for many things, worshiping my ancestors and giving thanks to Her on this day being one of them.

November 16th - Hekate’s Night - Hecatesia - a good night to associate with Hekate of the Three ways.

November 30th - Day of Hekate at the Crossroads - use this night to connect with Hekate at the crossroads.

Eleusinian Mysteries - it is said that Hekate is one of the chief goddesses of the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Lesser Mysteries were held annually and contained the Rites of Cleansing. These were held in Anthesterion (March - though the exact time is not fixed). Priests purified the candidates for initiation myesis. The Greater Mysteries were held every 4 years and included a week of special rites.

They took place in Boedromion (the first month of the Attic calendar) and lasted nine days. The first (14th Boedromion) was when they brought the sacred objects from Eleusis to the Eleusinion, a temple at the base of the Acropolis. Day 2, 15 Boedromion, hierophantes (the priests) declared prorrhesis (the start of the rites). Ceremonies began in Athens on 16 Boedromion with celebrants washing themselves in the sea at Phalerom and the sacrifice of a young pig at the Eleusinion on day 4, 17 Boedromion.

On day 6, 19th Boedromion, the procession began at Kerameikos (Athenian cemetery) and the initiates walked to Eleusis along the Sacred Way, swinging branches called bakchoi. At certain points in their walk they shouted obscenities in commemoration of Iambe (the old woman who made Demeter smile as she mourned her daughter). Upon reaching Eleusis, they held a day of fasting in commemoration of Demeter's fasting while searching for her daughter. The fast was broken while drinking a special drink made of barley and pennyroyal called kykeon κυκεών.

Day 7 and 8, 20 and 21st of Boedromion, initiates entered the great hall called Telesterion. This was the most secretive part of the Mysteries and initiates were forbidden from ever speaking of what took place under penalty of death.

Modern theorists conclude that priests were the ones to reveal visions of the holy night, the fire that represented the possibility of life after death and the various sacred objects. Some claim that insufficient and instead say the experiences were caused by a powerful psychoactive ingredient in the kykeon.

Following this was the Pannychis meaning all night, an all night feast or ceremony that was accompanied by dancing and merriment. These took place in the Rharian Field, rumored to be where corn first grew. This night or the following morning a bull was also sacrificed.

On 22 Boedromion the initiates honored the dead by pouring libations. 23 Boedromion the Mysteries ended and everyone returned home.

Her Sacred Fires - Full Moon in May
This is a modern celebration started in 2010 by Torchbearers for The Covenant of Hekate to celebrate the full moon and coincided with the launch of a book (Her Sacred Fires - by Torchbearer Sorita d'Este).

Full Moon - Hekate is usually celebrated during the dark times of the moon but I also feel called to embrace the light of the moon as well.

It will also do to mention that the ancient calendar looks nothing like ours. The first of their month began with the new moon and ended with the dark of the moon. Their days also began at sunset so when you say a festival begins on a certain day, say Deipnon, it really begins that night after sunset  (alternatively, it begins the night before at sunset to the night of at sunset).

Hellenion’s Calendar:

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 10

10. Offerings –

I've mentioned these earlier when I discussed the Deipna but common offerings both past and present are things like bread, cheese, garlic, leeks, raw eggs, honey, cakes (such as the asamphiphôn), fish (Red Mullet is a particular favorite), apple, fig, pomegranate, olives and libations (wine, cider, milk, tea, etc). I also like to include a lit candle and incense  (UPG - unverified personal gnosis - but she's told me she prefers saffron though I haven't found it easily locally and need to order it online).

Others include black puppies (I do not suggest you try this and it is even said that in ancient times they would use figurines representing black dogs and usually only when they felt they needed to ... go that extra mile to get back in Hekate’s good graces.

Blood, be it an accidental or purposely made cut for this, blood from meat you're preparing  (or if you work in a meat farm or as a butcher), some go as far as to offer menstrual blood.

Holocausts, in which a religious animal sacrifice is completely consumed by fire. The word comes from the Greek holocaustos ὁλόκαυστος from ὅλος "whole" and καυστός "burnt", which is only used for the major forms of sacrifice. These are apotropaic rituals meant to appease the spirits of the underworld and as an offering used to malign powers, such as the Keres and Hekate. Typically the inedible portions were burned on altars to the Gods while the rest was eaten by men though in times of great need whole animals were given.

Others include lavender, roses, juniper, frankincense (an endangered tree), myrrh, mint, rue, jasmine, cardamom, bay laurel, barley, oak leaves, mushrooms, apples, mugwort, maidenhair fern, wormwood, poppy, sesame, herbal tea.

Snakeskin, dog hair, poisonous plants, graveyard and crossroads dirt, moss, yew, lanterns, torches, keys, amethyst, obsidian, onyx, black stones, lapis lazuli, labradorite, lodestone. The list goes on.

Again, I'll just mention I wouldn't sacrifice live animals. Don't do that and say I told you to. It's not one of those things to be done in modern times. Take beeswax or something and mold a likeness of an animal if you feel it necessary.

Just like there's many different things to offer, there are many ways. Some people leave their offerings at a crossroads (preferably on biodegradable plates like a banana leaf etc) or on outdoor altars/shrines but PLEASE be mindful and double (and triple) check that what you're offering isn't toxic to animals. We may leave these offerings for the gods but the probability is very high that some animal will find it. Many of the foods we eat today are toxic, lethal or somewhat damaging to certain animals, even if it's safe for one animal, it can still kill or seriously injure another.

Some place their offerings at their altar then after their ritual, either partake of the offerings themselves, place them in a separate bag and throw them away, bury them (again, be sure it's not going to harm anything), burn them, etc. The options are pretty extensive.

That's what I get for posting so late, the pic didn't attach and there were errors.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 9

9. Common mistakes about this deity.

This one is a bit iffy. As I said in my previous entries, Hekate is different things for different people. Obviously I have the picture in my head of who and what She is, as well as the feeling of wrongness when I see Her described differently. Then again, who am I to tell a Devotee that they are wrong, if She appears to one a certain way, and another to another, what business is it of mine? Obviously this blog prompt made it my business at least for the duration of this writing so I may as well cover it to the best of my abilities.

One of the most common is of that as Hekate as Crone Goddess. No stories or depictions have surfaced where Hekate is a Crone. Maid and Mother yes, Crone, no. In fact, aside from Shakespeare's Macbeth, which describes Hekate's witches as hags, but not Hekate Herself, Aleister Crowley is the first to actually describe Hekate as a Crone. Then again, like I said, She has appeared many ways to many people over the centuries. If she appears to you as Crone or if your path devotes yourselves to her as a Crone, that is between you and Hekate. As yet, Hekate has not shown herself to me as an elderly anything and I feel uncomfortable describing her as such. I even go so far in my *personal devotion* to avoid the crone terminology and will reword things to escape it. Again, that's just my *personal* devotion. I'm not here to tell you how to worship, just to present as much detail as possible so you may decide for yourself.

Another common misconception is that She's evil or some such nonsense. I admit (and I believe I've admitted in an earlier post) that when I first started really immersing myself into Paganism, I actually avoided Hekate because of all the misconceptions about Her. I mean, a fresh faced new witch (especially one with anxiety like me) that had been interested for years but ran for cover every time, doing research and hearing how dark and dangerous and evil She is? Yea, I skipped on by Her without more than a mild by your leave. I trusted everyone else and didn't even try looking for myself. I suppose I can blame it on being so overwhelmed with everything that I was taking the easy way out. I'm glad She stuck around though.

Which brings me back to her "evil" misconception. I've written in previous blog posts about some of the reasons people think badly about Her and also the true reasons behind them. Like how She shows us (from my post on Day 1) through the light of her torches, that which is already there, illuminating the subconscious, shining light on the shadows of our self doubt. Some say this is Hekate sending demons after them, or nightmares, or torturing them when in reality, she is merely showing us what we need to see so that we may over come it. So that we may heal. Though it is what we NEED it is often not what we WANT. And that can be a scary process.

She is also Queen of Ghosts, of the Restless Dead, Queen of the Underworld. That can be scary to think about. It is a dark topic but dark doesn't equal evil. Death is a part of life, we all die. That doesn't mean there is anything malignant in Her workings with the Underworld.

Furthermore, yes She is one you don't want to take lightly but would you anger Aphrodite, or Hera, or Zeus, or how about Apollo? No? I didn't think so. It would be just as foolish to anger them as it would Hekate but does that stop their followers from following them? Perhaps some are intimidated enough to not persue it but overall, no it does not. No one said this path was easy or inherently safe. It's one of the reasons for casting circles, for amulets and talismans, for protection jars or bags amd crystals. There is danger in so many things that we do. The question is, do you think it is worth the risk.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry for the brevity, my youngest,  little 4 year old witchling is pretty sick with a viral bug, raging fever and pink eye so I'm exhausted and not on top of my game. I debated on holding off until perhaps tomorrow but this is part of the point of a 30 day devotional. Sometimes it may not be possible but if it is at all possible, even if it's while you're running on fumes after sick kiddies are in bed and would rather crawl into bed yourself? I'll get there.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 8

8. Variations on this deity (aspects, regional forms, etc.)

Aspects:
This one will vary depending on who you ask. You ask one Devotee who Hekate is and what way She shows herself to them and they'll tell you She's a triple Goddess, another will tell you She's a wizened crone and yet another will tell you She's a beautiful albeit fierce yonder maiden. Some say She's a moon goddess, some say not. None of these are wrong. She appears to me in her younger aspect, as a single deity and under the dark of the moon. If she appears to you as a crone, or a triple goddes, or with 3 heads, or however you see her, that is correct. Join a room full of Devotees and each may tell you a different story. As Persephone/Artemis/Hekate and as Demeter/Hera/Selene, as Hekate/Persephone/Demeter.

Triple Goddess; the Maiden, Mother, and Crone (all three) or as one part of a group trio.
Triple Goddess: In various classical depictions she is shown as a triple goddess, often just three versions of herself. In these she is typically holding a torch (or 2 or 3), a key, serpents, daggers, black dogs and numerous other items. Also as a triple goddess she was said to represent the goddess of the moon in three forms. That of Selene, the Moon in heaven, of Artemis, the Huntress on earth, and that of Persephone, the Destroyer in the Underworld.

Maiden - many classical depictions of Hekate is of that of a younger maiden and that was largely the way She was worshipped by the ancients. The Crone aspect is much newer.

Mother - this Queen of Witches she is the protector of women and children. Of those who are pregnant or in childbirth. As the goddess of Midwives

Crone - in her Crone aspect, symbolized by the dark of the moon, She is Goddess of the Restless Dead, Queen of Night, Mistress of sorcery and magic. She is the Wise Woman, this Queen of Ghosts.

Goddess of Fertility and Plenty - Hekate was often looked upon as a goddess of fertility, whose torches were carried over freshly sown fields symbolizing the fertilizing power of the moonlight.

Goddess of the Underworld - in this aspect as well as the others she also reigns over those in childbirth, called upon by women having difficulty in child bearing. She travels the earth at night accompanied by her hounds and the restless dead. Some say she sends demons in the night, that she is the cause of nightmares and insanity. Still more say this is false and that she merely illuminates the pieces of us that we need to see, or the paths we need to traverse. This is not always a pleasant realization.

Regions:
Lagina - Hekate’s largest cult center was and is (as the ruins still remain today) in the southwestern Anatolian region of Caria at Lagina. In what is now Southern Turkey. Some scholars believe that this is Hekate's original homeland though more recent scholars question this.

The temple itseld is a Hellenistic merging of Greek and Carian cultures, and was built at roughly the same period as the famous temple of Artemis Ephesia, in the ancient city of Ephesus.

Traveling to the temple at Lagina is definitely on my "bucket list". The photo below is *not* mine. In all instances I've left the mark/watermark from whomever I've borrowed the images from so that you may find them at their origin).

Samothrake/Samothrace/Thrace in Greece - It is a municipality within the Evros regional unit of Thrace, in Eastern Macedonia. West of Lagina was Zerynthos. There lies a cave in the Zerynthia Mountain, there they sacrificed dogs in Her honor.

Athens, Chief City of Attika southern Greece - we find mention here in Aristophanes, Wasps 799 ff (trans. O'Neill - Greek comedy C5th-4th BC) it is written:
"Athenians ... on their own houses ... constructed in the porch ... altars of Hecate ... before every door."
And in Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.30.2 (trans. Jones - Greek travelogue C2nd AD):
"It was Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made three images of Hekate attached to one another, a figure called by the Athenians Epipurgidia (on the Tower); it stands beside the temple of Nike Apteron (Wingless Victory) [on the Akropolis]."

Eleusis in Attika - Hekate was a chief goddess of the Eleusinian Mysteries, along with Demeter and Persephone.

Aigina in Southern Greece - Pausanias, Des of Greece 2.30.2 (trans. Jones - Greek travelogue C2nd AD):
"Of the gods, the Aiginetans worship most Hekate, in whose honor every year they celebrate mystic rites which, they say, Orpheus the Thrakian established among them. Within the enclosure is a temple; its wooden image is the work of Myron, and it has one face and one body. It is Alkamenes, in my opinion, who first made thrww images of Hekate attached to one another [in Athens]."

And many more.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 7

7. Names and epithets.

Hekate/Hecate/Ἑκάτη
This is by no means a complete list.

Adonaea/Aidônaia (Lady of the Underworld)
Agrotera (Huntress)
Anassa eneroi (Queen of those Below)
Angelos (Messenger)
Antaia (the One in Front)
Atalos (Tender, Delicate)
Antania (Enemy of Mankind)

Brimo (Angry One)

Dadophoros (Torch Bearer)
Despoina (Mistress/Lady)

Enodia (Of The Paths/Roads)
Epiphanestate Thea (Most Manifest Goddess)
Epipurgidia (on the tower)

Khthonia (of the underworld)
Kleidophoros (key bearer)
Kleidoukhos (keeper of the keys)
Koure mounogenes (Only Begotten Maiden)
Krataiis (strong one)
Krokopeplos (saffron-cloaked)
Kurotrophos (nurse of the children and protectress of mankind)

Liparokrêdmnos (brightly coiffed; with bright headband)

Megiste (Greatest)
Monogenes (Only Child)

Nyktipolos (Night-Wandering)
Nyktipolos Khthonie (Night Wanderer of the Underworld)

Perseis (Destroyer; Daughter of Perses)
Phosphoros (the Light-Bringer)
Propolos (the Attendant who Leads)
Propylaia (the One Before the Gate)
Prytania (Invincible Queen of the Dead)

Selene (the Far-Shooting Moon)
Skylakagetis (Leader of the Dogs)
Soteira (Savior)

Trikephalos (Three-Headed)
Trimorphis (Three-Formed/Three-Bodied)
Trioditis (Of Three Roads)
Trivia (Of the Three Ways)

Zerynthia (Of Mt Zerynthia)

Holy One
Invincible Queen
Lady of the Underworld
Mistress of Magic
Mistress of the Lower Way
Opener of the Way to Death
Goddess of Crossroads
Goddess of Midnight
Goddess of Storms
Goddess of the Dark of the Moon
Goddess of Earthly Ghosts
Goddess of the Scene of the Crime
Goddess of Witches
Queen of Crossroads
Queen of Death
Queen of Ghosts
Queen of the Night
Queen of Witches
She Who Has Power Far Off
She Who Works From Afar
Sovereign Goddess of Many Names
The Distant One
Great Mother
Divine Friend of Dogs
Divine Three-Formed
Golden Shining Attendant of Aphrodite
Holy Daughter of Great Bosomed Nyx
in Saffron Veil Arrayed
Leader
Minister and Companion to Persephone
Queen of the Night
Unconquerable Queen

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 6

6. Other related deities and entities associated with this deity.

The Restless Dead - Hekate rules over the dead and the underworld. Specifically the restless dead, those who died before their time, who suffered extreme violence at their time of death, those denied proper burial. Every month on the dark moon, Hekate’s worshipers celebrate the Deipna and leave out offerings to Her and the Restless Dead.

Persephone - Περσεφόνη Also known as Kore (the maiden), daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She is the Goddess of the Underworld, springtime, vegetation and maidenhood. Consort of Hades. Her symbols are the pomegranate, pomegranate seeds, bats, seeds of grain, flowers, etc. Hekate accompanies Persephone on Her journey to and from Her home with Hades in the Underworld each spring and autumn.

Aphrodite - Ἀφροδίτη Goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. Her symbols are the dolphin, rose, scallop shell, dove, sparrow, girdle, swan, etc. It was the poet Sappho (630 BC) who described Hekate as Handmaiden to Aphrodite.

Gorgons - Γοργών daughters of Echidna Ἔχιδνα and Typhon Τυφῶν, the mother and father of all monsters, they are also attributed to Phorkys Φόρκυς. Their names were Stheno Σθεννώ, Euryale Εὐρυάλη, who were immortal, and the most notable, Medusa Μέδουσα, who was not immortal and was slain by the Demigod Perseus. Many used the depictions of the face of a Gorgon as a popular protective motif. Many modern day followers connect the Gorgons with Hekate.

Kerberos - Κέρβερος Cerberus, the Hound of Hades. The multi-headed guard dog of the underworld who prevents the dead from leaving. Another offspring of Echidna and Typhon, Cerberus is usually described as having three heads, a serpent tail, snakes protruding from various parts of his body and lion claws. Some stories say that Cerberus was Hekate’s, not Hades as he was often in her presence, such as in the picture ca 330 - 310 BC "Detail of Kerberos and Hekate from a scene showing the journey of Orpheus to the Underworld. Hekate is shown dressed as a huntress, and wielding a pair of Eleusinian torches. Herakles (not shown) is dragging Kerberos away on a lead."

Kharites - Χάριτες (Charites) were also called Graces, three goddesses of grace, beauty, adornment, mirth, festivity, dance and song. They were attendants of goddesses Aphrodite and Hera. One Kharis, was the wife of Hephaistos and another, Pasithea, was married to Hypnos (sleep). They were also seen in the company of Hekate, as depicted by surviving statuettes but no explanation is known. While 3 is the most common number attributed to their rank, that figure as well as their names vary widely

Erinyes - Ἐρῑνύες Also known as Furies, the Erinyes were female chthonic deities of vengeance. Sometimes referred to as "infernal goddesses" of the netherworld. They avenged crimes against the natural order, particularly focusing on homicide, unfilial conduct, crimes against the gods and perjury. Most powerful was their curse from a parent murdered by a child as that was the crime of which the Erinyes were borne, being sprung from the blood of Ouranos, when he was castrated by his son Kronos. They have been connected to Hekate, at least one depiction of a witch calling on Hekate and placing Her opposite Tisiphone, one of the Erinyes.

Hekate’s Hounds - one legend depicts these hounds as once having been mortal women who called on Hekate and she transformed them and so they remain at her side. The hounds howl during the 'between times', at sunrise and sunset, howling at Hekate as She passes.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 5

5. Members of the family – genealogical connections.

Parents:
1. Perses (the destroyer) and Asteria (Starry One) - Hesiod Theogeny 404, Apollodorus 1.8
2. Perses - Homeric Hymn 2 to Demeter 24, Orphic Hymn 1, Lycophron 1174, Apollonius Rhodius 3.1036, Diodorus Siculus 4.45.1, Ovid Metamorphoses 7.74, Seneca Medea 812
3. Zeus and Asteria - Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. 3.467 ap Musaeus
4. Nyx - Bacchylides Frag 1B, Scholiast on Apoll. Rhod. 3.467
5. Aristaios - Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. 3.467 ap Pherecydes
6. Demeter - Orphic Frag, Scholiast on Apoll. Rhod. 3.467.

Perses - Greek Titan God of Destruction. He was one of three sons of the Titan Krios/Crius and Eurybia. Most remaining works that survive are but fragments that describe his role as husband to Asteria and father to Hekate.
Asteria - An Oracle. A Titaness whose name suggests that She is of the Stars. One version of the birth of Artemis and Apollo has Asteria transformed into the isle of Delos so as to provide a place for Leto (her sister) to give birth.
Nyx - One of the Protogenoi (cosmic forces that predate the Titans) whose purview is Night. A primeval Goddess born of Chaos.
Zeus - King of the Gods. notorious womanizer, He is a heavenly ruler, with powers over law and the weather.
Demeter - Goddess of Agriculture whose name literally means The Mother. She’s most well known for the story of the Abduction of Persephone and of being pursued by Poseidon. Her wrath could be truly intimidating. Though her main purview was the Harvest, she also held dominion over marriage.
Aristaios - A Shepherd God who also governs the apiary arts (bee-keeping), olive harvests, herbalism. He is the son of Apollo and Kyrene.

Lovers:
Phorkys - God of the hidden reaches of the Sea. Known as the “Old Man of the Sea” he is the father of a range of monsters. He slept with Hekate, who bore forth Skylla. He, too, is often depicted as a Torchbearer.

Aeetes - Demigod son of Helios, who is married to Hekate in versions of Her story wherein She is a mortal Queen. He is also King of Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece.

Hermes - Messenger God of Thieves, Roads, and Trade. He shares many traits with Hekate, including the role as a Guide between the Worlds. In spite of stories where the two are described as lovers, there are no surviving bits that mention them having children.

Offspring:
Skylla - A Sea Monster best known from Her role in the Odyssey.  Herakles killed Her but Phorkys resurrected his daughter with his torches.

Kirke - In the versions where Hekate is a mortal queen wed to King Aeetes, they have three children, Kirke, Medea, and Aigialeus. Kirke is, of course, the witch of Odyssean fame who turned his men into pigs and seduced the hero.

Medea - The witch who fell in love with Iason in the Argonautika, who helped him attain the fleece and thereafter assisted his escape. She is also one of Hekate’s most prominent devotees.

Aigialeus - Medea’s brother who was murdered by her to halt the pursuit of her father who was chasing after Jason and the Argonauts.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 4

4. A favorite myth or myths of this deity.

Hekate, Hecuba and black dogs:
After the fall of Troy, Odysseus received Queen Hekabe/Hecuba as his captive. During the return voyage, Hekabe murdered a Thracian king and was stoned and the gods transformed her into a black dog, henceforth known as the the animal familiar of Bendis, the Thrakian Hekate who was in ancient times offered dogs as a sacrifice (particularly on/around Deipna/Deipnon if they wanted to please Hekate and bring good fortune back into their homes). Alternatively, it is said that Hecuba threw herself from a rock once the city was captured and Hekate took pity on her, thus turning her into a dog.

Hekate, Alkmene and Galinthias/Gale and the polecat:
There are at least two myths as to how the polecat became associated with Hekate. One, as the myth goes involves a witch named Gale. Gale was so full of greed and lust that the gods punished her by turning her into a black polecat, and Hekate welcomed her amongst her favorite animals. (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.): "I have heard that the land-marten (polecat) was once a human being. It has also reached my hearing that Gale was her name then; that she was a dealer in spells and a sorceress (Pharmakis); that she was extremely incontinent, and that she was afflicted with abnormal sexual desires. Nor has it escaped my notice that the anger of the goddess Hekate transformed it into this evil creature. May the goddess be gracious to me : fables and their telling I leave to others."

The second pertains to Alkmene and the birth of Herakles. Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 29 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.): "At Thebes Proitos had a daughter Galinthias. This maiden was playmate and companion of Alkmene, daughter of Elektryon. As the birth throes for Herakles were pressing on Alkmene, the Moirai (the Fates) and Eileithyia (Birth-Goddess), as a favour to Hera, kept Alkmene in continuous birth pangs. They remained seated, each keeping their arms crossed. Galinthias, fearing that the pains of her labor would drive Alkmene mad, ran to the Moirai and Eleithyia and announced that by desire of Zeus a boy had been born to Alkmene and that their prerogatives had been abolished. At all this, consternation of course overcame the Moirai and they immediately let go their arms. Alkmene’s pangs ceased at once and Herakles was born. The Moirai were aggrieved at this and took away the womanly parts of Galinthias since, being but a mortal, she had deceived the gods. They turned her into a deceitful weasel (polecat), making her live in crannies and gave her a grotesque way of mating. She is mounted through the ears and gives birth by bringing forth her young through the throat. Hekate felt sorry for this transformation of her appearance and appointed her a sacred servant of herself."

Hekate, Demeter and Persephone:
A daughter, Persephone was born of Demeter, the goddes of the crops and harvest, and Zeus, the king of the gods. One day while Persephone was gathering wild flowers, she was abducted by Hades, the god of the underworld. Some say Zeus gave his daughter to his brother while others claim Cupid is responsible, having struck Hades with one of his arrows. Hekate and Helios hear Persephone’s please for help as does her mother, Demeter who is too far away to help. Demeter was distraught when she could not find her daughter and wandered over the face of the earth searching for her, neither eating nor bathing. Eventually she comes upon Hekate who tells her she heard the screams but does not know what happened and suggests she asks Helios, the Sun god, if he saw anything during his trek across the sky. Helios tells Demeter everything and tries to consol her by pointing out that Hades will make a wonderful husband for her daughter as he's an important and powerful god.

Furious with Zeus (who in one story is the cause, and another, refuses to intervene), Demeter withdraws from her role as agricultural goddess, vowing to not set foot on Mount Olympus again and to not allow anything to grow on earth until she gets her daughter back. The resulting famine threatened the extinction of the entire human race. Seeing this, Zeus sends Hermes to the underworld to tell Hades to release Persephone. Hades agrees but not before he tricks her into eating pomegranate seeds, the fruit of the dead (the number of which varies in the tellings).

Once Demeter is reunited with her daughter she asks if she had eaten anything in the underworld. Persephone admits that she has and so must remain in the underworld. Demeter, in a rage swears nothing will ever again grow on the earth and once again Zeus must intervene. Hekate arrives and consols Demeter and Persephone while Zeus sends his mother, Rhea to broker an agreement with Demeter. She reluctantly agrees to allow Persephone to spend part of the year in the underworld with Hades (how long varies in different tellings) but in mourning during this time, once again vows that so long as her daughter remains in the underworld, nothing will grow, only allowing life to take root in the earth once her daughter is once again returned to her.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 3

3. Symbols and icons of this deity.

Partial repeat from Day 1.

Keys - Used to open the gates to the underworld and to access the knowledge of occult mysteries and the afterlife hidden there. The Orhpic hymn to Hekate addresses her as "holder of the keys of Cosmos". One of Hekate's many names is Kleidoukhos, Keybearer. There was also a position as such at Her temple at Lagina.

Hekate’s Wheel/Circle or Strophalos - Mentioned in the second century in the Alexandrian text known as the Chaldean Oracle - an emblam of the initiatory lunar Goddess Hekate in her triple aspect. Originally a Mycenean motif, found on a button, thought by some to have been on clothing worn by Hekatean priests/priestesses. In modern accountiny it is usually described as a maze depicting the path between life, death, and rebirth.

Torches - Brings light and wisdom to the world, Hekate uses her torches to reveal what is already there. Lights the way and that of the subconscious. Shining light on the shadows of our self doubt and removes our fear of the unknown. That which the person NEEDS to heal, but not necessarily what they WANT to see. Used when Hekate assisted Demeter in searching for her daughter, Persephone. Nearly all images currently remaining show Hekate holding a torch, sometimes two. The Altar of Pergamum depicts her battle with the Gigante Clytus, whom she used her torch to slay

Dagger - Later known as the athame of witches - used to cut delusions and as a symbol of ritual power. Hekate uses her knife (dagger) to sever the cord as midwife and to detach the body from life force at death.

Rope - Also called a whip, scourge and cord that symbolizes the umbilical cord for rebirth and renewal.

A single golden, bronze, or brazen sandal (sometimes referred to as a pair worn with a white gown/robe and polos (headdress).

Oinochoe - a libation pitcher - sometimes included in modern and ancient depictions.

Phiale - Libation/offering bowl, also seen in modern and ancient depictions.

Fruit - Often a pomegranate amongst others for her role in reuniting Persephone and Demeter, and her continued friendship of Persephone.

Ancient surviving images show her as a maiden in all guises while modern images vary wildly, some depict a maiden, some the triformed Maiden, Mother and Crone, some, just the Crone.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 2

2. How did you become first aware of this deity?

I have been toeing the pagan line for half of my life now, trying to find exactly where I was called. All while simultaneously ignoring it because of my families beliefs (SBapt. AND Repub, I'm basically black sheep without even doing anything wrong) and worrying about how they would feel. Still do to be honest but I'm tired of denying my path. Of course over the years, while trying to find just where I fit, I've come across stories of Hekate, usually as a fearsome Crone that I was afraid of and didn't want to trifle with. I guess it just goes to show you need to do your own research.

As I've said, over the years I've toed the line, read a book here or there, began studying some. For some reason or the other (usually the overwhelming need to hide it or someone's bad reaction to it) I've given up.  Or perhaps it just wasn't the right time. This time I have a modicum of support. I still don't plan on fully outing myself. This community is small and some of my relatives (and their ilk) are just vile. Those that truly matter do know, basics at least.

I did a lot of research on deities, patron deities, etc. There really are too many to even quantify. Where do you start? I'm no good at meditation, thus far I always fall asleep. I'm working on it. Dreams were getting me nowhere. Having Narcolepsy really throws a wrench in those two. I know not everyone has a Patron and that it was possible that I didn't either, but somehow I knew I did. I still didn't know where to start. Which pantheon to look in, which deity in those pantheons. It's not like I could recognize signs if I knew nothing. So, I asked the gods to show me a sign anyway. I looked at more before I asked, including at Hekate and immediately after. Searched high and low for a sign. Nothing. So I grabbed a new book on kindle and began to read. The series is a new one. I'd never read it before, knew nothing of the content. One of the characters was a Hekatean witch. As soon as I read Her name THIS time, I felt chills all down my spine. So I asked aloud if it was She, and She answered me. It was kind of surreal. I saw her in my minds eye, neither maid nor crone. She was a bit exasperated, probably because it took me so long to open my eyes. I haven't looked back since. I don't need to. I'm home. Who knows what the future will bring but I've found my niche. Or rather, She found me.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate: Day 1

1. A basic introduction of the deity.

Hekate's Symbols
1. Keys - Used to open the gates to the underworld and to access the knowledge of occult mysteries and the afterlife hidden there. The Orhpic hymn to Hekate addresses her as "holder of the keys of Cosmos".

2. Hekate’s Wheel/Circle or Strophalos - Mentioned in the second century in the Alexandrian text known as the Chaldean Oracle - an emblam of the initiatory lunar Goddess Hekate in her triple aspect.

3. Torches - Brings light and wisdom to the world, Hekate uses her torches to reveal what is already there. Lights the way and that of the subconscious. Shining light on the shadows of our self doubt and removes our fear of the unknown. That which the person NEEDS to heal, but not necessarily what they WANT to see. Used when Hekate assisted Demeter in searching for her daughter, Persephone.

4. Dagger - Later known as the athame of witches - used to cut delusions and as a symbol of ritual power. Hekate uses her knife (dagger) to sever the cord as midwife and to detach the body from life force at death.

5. Rope - Also called a whip, scourge and cord that symbolizes the umbilical cord for rebirth and renewal.

6. A single golden, bronze, or brazen sandal (sometimes referred to as a pair worn with a white gown/robe and polos (headdress).

7. Oinochoe - a libation pitcher - sometimes included in modern and ancient depictions.

8. Phiale - Libation/offering bowl, also seen in modern and ancient depictions.

9. Fruit - Often a pomegranate amongst others for her role in reuniting Persephone and Demeter, and her continued friendship of Persephone.

Sacred Animals: ALL animals are sacred to Hekate.
1. Dogs - It is said when the dogs howl at night they sing to Goddess Hekate. Dogs/black dogs or she-wolf are often depicted as her familiar and primary animal form. Sometimes as having 3 heads or sometimes Hekate is depicted as having 3 heads, one of which is a black dog. After the fall of Troy, Odysseus received Queen Hekabe/Hecuba as his captive. During the return voyage, Hekabe murdered a Thracian king and was stoned and the gods transformed her into a black dog, henceforth known as the the animal familiar of Bendis, the Thrakian Hekate who was in ancient times offered dogs as a sacrifice (particularly on/around Deipna/Deipnon if they wanted to please Hekate and bring good fortune back into their homes). Alternatively, it is said that Hecuba threw herself from a rock once the city was captured and Hekate took pity on her, thus turning her into a dog.

2. Lion - During the times when Hekate is depicted as having 3 non-human heads, one of those heads is often times a lion.

3. Snakes - One of many non-human heads depicted (Dog, Snake, Lion and sometimes a Bear, Cow or Boar). These have been connected with her chthonic powers and of the uncommon wisdom of the other world.

(Raven, owls, crows, frogs and dragons - All dark animals are said to be Her messengers.)

4. Bulls - It was written in the Greek Magical Papyri, which is a collection of spells and incantations that have been dated from the 2nd century BCE to the 5th century CE. Hekate, in the Prayer to Selene, is addressed thusly. "O Night Bellower, Lover of Solitude, Bull-Faced and Bull-Headed One," and also as "Bull-Eyed, Horned, Mother of Gods and Men."

5. Horses - "...and she [Hekate] is good to stand by horsemen, whom she will." - the Theogeny (Evelyn-White, tr 1914). Hekate is also said to appear as a horse in the Chaldean Oracles (theological Alexandrian literature providing practical information for the masses to practice theurgy. In these, Hekate "tells" the theurgist a set of words or phrases to invole her presence. Hekate is then said to appear in the form or a child or horse (Johnston, 1990 pg 111): “...you will see a horse flashing more brightly than light, or a child mounted on the swift back of a horse, a fiery child or a child covered with gold ... or even a child shooting arrows, standing upon a horses’ back.” Furthermore as part of invoking Hekate in particular spells, horses have been included in such invocation (Betz, ed. 1992): PGM IV 2441-2021 and PGM VII 756-794; and utilising their power PGM III 1-164. Such associations have led to her being illustrated as a horse (D’Este and Rankine, 2009, pg. 138) or as the horse being one of the three depicted heads.

6. Polecats - There are at least two myths as to how the polecat became associated with Hekate. One, as the myth goes involves a witch named Gale. Gale was so full of greed and lust that the gods punished her by turning her into a black polecat, and Hekate welcomed her amongst her favorite animals. (Greek natural history C2nd A.D.): "I have heard that the land-marten (polecat) was once a human being. It has also reached my hearing that Gale was her name then; that she was a dealer in spells and a sorceress (Pharmakis); that she was extremely incontinent, and that she was afflicted with abnormal sexual desires. Nor has it escaped my notice that the anger of the goddess Hekate transformed it into this evil creature. May the goddess be gracious to me : fables and their telling I leave to others."
The second pertains to Alkmene and the birth of Herakles. Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 29 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer C2nd A.D.): "At Thebes Proitos had a daughter Galinthias. This maiden was playmate and companion of Alkmene, daughter of Elektryon. As the birth throes for Herakles were pressing on Alkmene, the Moirai (the Fates) and Eileithyia (Birth-Goddess), as a favour to Hera, kept Alkmene in continuous birth pangs. They remained seated, each keeping their arms crossed. Galinthias, fearing that the pains of her labor would drive Alkmene mad, ran to the Moirai and Eleithyia and announced that by desire of Zeus a boy had been born to Alkmene and that their prerogatives had been abolished. At all this, consternation of course overcame the Moirai and they immediately let go their arms. Alkmene’s pangs ceased at once and Herakles was born. The Moirai were aggrieved at this and took away the womanly parts of Galinthias since, being but a mortal, she had deceived the gods. They turned her into a deceitful weasel (polecat), making her live in crannies and gave her a grotesque way of mating. She is mounted through the ears and gives birth by bringing forth her young through the throat. Hekate felt sorry for this transformation of her appearance and appointed her a sacred servant of herself."

7. Red Mullet - Since Hekate rules over three domains, including the sea, fish are sacred to both Her and Poseidon. Red mullet is and was a common offering to Hekate. As noted in Marquardt (1981), red mullet is also an appropriate offering during the Eleusinian Rites. She also notes the inclusion of fish on a painted amphora where Hekate's outfit has a fish patterned on it (pg. 254).

8. Frog - A creature that lives in two worlds, in the sea and on the earth, a creature that can cross the border between them at will. These are sacred to Hekate and the Egyptian goddess Hekat (whom some equate with early Hekate).

9. Boar - one of the occasional non-human heads depicted on her triple form.

10. Bees - Honey is a common offering for Hekate, especially during the Deipna/Deipnon. This is the food of the Thriae/Thriai (three prophetic Nymphs of Mount Parnassos in Phokis ((central Greece)), the most ancient Delphic prophetesses, who wove golden tissues of words of truth or madness. They sang the thriambos, a honey-intoxicated bee song, in honor of the flowering pollen-producing rod, the magic wand of the phallic God, reunifying nature and spirit.

11. Owls - The owl which represents wisdom and far sightedness was associated with Hekate as she had the ability to see into three different directions at once and also had the ability to see and travel in the hidden realms.

Sacred Plants: 
1. Yew - considered the central tree of death, associated with immortality because it takes longer than any other tree except the oak to come to maturity. Hekate’s cauldron contains ‘slips of yew’ and Her sacred tree is said to root into the mouths of the dead and release their souls and it also absorbs the odors of death. Yew has long been associated with the Underworld. Yew has strong associations with death and rebirth. A poison prepared from the seeds to be used on arrows as the seeds are highly poisonous. The fleshy coral-colored 'berry' surrounding the seed, is not, however, if prepared correctly, can cause visual hallucinations.

2. Cypress - Similar to reasoning for the Yew, Cypress was a common plant used to decorate graves.

3. Hazel - attributed but I can find no explainable reasoning.

4. Black Poplar - As Hekate stood at the gateway between shadow and light, between the Underworld and the upper, the bicolored leaves reflect her borderland qualities. Black poplar was sacred to Hekate as a funeral tree.

5. Willow - The willow tree and it's bark are sacred to Hekate. They are believed to be extremely important to witches as they are supposedly bound to them and helpless without.

6. Oak - An Oak tree stands in the center of Hekate’s garden in Orphic Argonautica and Hekate wears a crown of oak-leaves.

7. Juniper -  The wood and berries are a very powerful protection as well. It is well known for breaking curses or hexes.

Sacred Herbs and Plants:
There are several herbs and plants associated with Hekate. Garlic, almonds, lavender, myrrh, mugwort, cardamom, mint, dandelion, hellebore, and lesser celandine. Several poisons and hallucomogens have also been linked to Hekate. Belladona, foxglove, hemlock, wolfsbane, mandrake, aconite  (which is also known as Hecateis) and opium poppy.

Holidays: 
Deipna/Deipnon - a ritual of cleaning the home and leaving an offering for Her and the restless dead at the crossroads in Her honor. Done each dark moon/monthly.
August 13th - Known as Hekate’s Night, the feast of Hekate. Used as a proprietary celebration to avert the harvest-destroying storms.
October 31st - Some modern Pagans celebrate Hekate’s role as a Psychopompe - one who guides the dead - as part of their Samhain rituals.
November 16th - Hekate’s Night
November 30th - Hekate is honored as the Goddess of the Crossroads. 

Hekate guards the gates between our world and the Underworld and that of the crossroads (the three way crossroads to be specific). The keeper of the keys, unlocking the mysteries and knowledge of witchcraft, guardian of the restless dead. The Goddess of thresholds, of liminal spaces. It is her liminality that defines who She is. She is the Torchbearer, bringing light and wisdom to the world, revealing what is already there and shines light on our self doubt.

Hekate, who had dominion over 3 realms, pledged to help Zeus in his defeat over the Titans, and in doing so, earned His favor, was honered by Him and was allowed to maintain her dominion over her realms.
"Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods.... The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea".

Her parentage is listed frequently as the Titans Perses (Destroyer) and Asteria (Starry One). It is sometimes given as Asteria and Zeus. Or that She is the daughter of Nyx, Night itself, or of Deo (Demeter).

Originally she was the Goddess of wild places, presided over childbirth and crossroads. Of the outcasts of society. Those in between spaces associated with the spirit world. For the wilderness and wild animals. She guarded the gates between the worlds and the crossroads and was associated with witches, magic and ghosts. It is from those that she became the Goddess of Magic, of witches and of the restless dead and later took on the Crone persona to many modern pagans.

30 Days of Devotion to Hekate

30 days of devotion to Hekate

I’ve decided to join up to celebrate my devotion to Hekate.  The challenge is to write up these posts over the next thirty days:

1. A basic introduction of the deity.
2. How did you become first aware of this deity?
3. Symbols and icons of this deity.
4. A favorite myth or myths of this deity.
5. Members of the family – genealogical connections.
6. Other related deities and entities associated with this deity.
7. Names and epithets.
8. Variations on this deity (aspects, regional forms, etc.)
9. Common mistakes about this deity.
10. Offerings – historical and UPG.
11. Festivals, days, and times sacred to this deity.
12. Places associated with this deity and their worship.
13. What modern cultural issues are closest to this deity’s heart?
14. Has worship of this deity changed in modern times?
15. Any mundane practices that are associated with this deity?
16. How do you think this deity represents the values of their pantheon and cultural origins?
17. How does this deity relate to other gods and other pantheons?
18. How does this deity stand in terms of gender and sexuality? (historical and/or UPG)
19. What quality or qualities of this god do you most admire?  What quality or qualities of them do you find the most troubling?
20. Art that reminds you of this deity.
21. Music that makes you think of this deity.
22. A quote, a poem, or piece of writing that you think this deity resonates strongly with.
23. Your own composition – a piece of writing about or for this deity.
24. A time when this deity has helped you.
25. A time when this deity has refused to help.
26. How has your relationship with this deity changed over time?
27. Worst misconception about this deity that you have encountered.
28. Something you wish you knew about this deity but don’t currently
29. Any interesting or unusual UPG to share?
30. Any suggestions for others just starting to learn about this deity?