Who
is Hecate?
| Edith
Hamilton's Mythology describes Hecate as: "the Goddess with three forms, Selene in the sky, Artemis on earth, Hecate in the lower world and in the world above when it is wrapped in darkness. Hecate was the Goddess of the Dark of the Moon, the black nights when the moon is hidden. She was associated with deeds of darkness, the Goddess of the Crossways, which held to be ghostly places of evil magic. An awful divinity, 'Hecate of hell, Mighty to shatter every stubborn thing. Hark! Hark! Her hounds are baying through the town. Where three roads meet, there she is standing.' It is a strange transformation from the lovely Huntress flashing through the forest, from the Moon making all beautiful with her light, from the pure Maiden-Goddess for whom 'Whoso is chaste of spirit utterly May gather leaves and fruits and flowers. The unchaste never.' In her is shown most vividly the uncertainty between good and evil which is apparent in every one of the divinities." This author, in practical application of who she is and what she does, misrepresents Hecate. My authority in this statement is not from a wealth of esoteric and academic studies but from just good old fashion experience of my own. Yes, she is dark. Yes, she stands at the crossroads of your life and stares you in the face and questions every fiber of your existence. She comes in many forms to challenge your journey. My particular encounter was on my mistaken path of Dionysian rituals I used for advancing my own alcoholism in the name of spirituality. While worshipping the vine and calling it sacred I was steadily spiraling down into the darkness approaching the crossroads where she stood. Many authors have defined Hecate. Most of which I read after my collision with her and nodded with experience. I personally like the description and suggestions in Demetra George's Mysteries of the Dark Moon ©1992. p.137-151. One other resource that includes actual ritual to the Dark Goddess is Marcia Starck and Gynne Stern's The Dark Goddess: Dancing with the Shadow, ©1993 p.115-130. I would love to hear from you what your thoughts are, please email me at Hearth@imagik.net I
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