Hecate

Hecate is the goddess of crossroads who protects and guide who has become a goddess of magic.

Blessings

Hekate is a guide and a guardian. She protects those who call upon Her, especially from murder, magic, theft, the dangers of childbirth, and the hardships of life on the road. She is also a mediating figure, who intercedes on our behalf with the other Gods. She bestows many gifts upon those who honor Her, including magical abilities and prosperity.

God Of

  • Magic

Primary Cult Centers

  • Aegina
  • Argos
  • Eleusis
  • Lagina
  • Miletus

Epithets

  • Aidonaia – Lady of the Underworld
  • Antania – Enemy of mankind or Sender of Nocturnal Dreams
  • Atalos – Tender, Delicate
  • Brimo – Angry One
  • Dadophoros – Torch bearer
  • Enodia – Of the Roads, Of the Paths
  • Epiphanestate Thea – Most Manifest Goddess
  • Erodia – Gatekeeper
  • Khthonia/Chthonian – Underworld, Of The Earth
  • Koure mounogenes – Only Begotten Maiden
  • Krataiis – Strong One
  • Kurotrophos – Protector of Children
  • Megiste – Greatest
  • Monogenes – Only Child
  • Nykipolos Khthonie – Night Wanderer of the Underworld
  • Nyktipolos – Night Wandering
  • Perseis – Destroyer
  • Phosphoros – the light-bringer
  • Propolos – Guide, Attendant Who Leads
  • Propylaia – the Guardian, The One Before the Gate
  • Trevia/Trivia/Trioditis – Of The Three Ways, Of the Three Roads
  • Tricephalus – The Three-Headed
  • Trimorphis – Three Formed, Three Bodied
  • Trioditis – Of the Crossroads
  • Zerynthia – Of Mt Zerynthia

Symbols

Torches, Keys, Rope, Knife

Animals

Dogs, Owls, Crows, Snakes, Frogs, Toad

Sacrifices

Yew, Cypress, Hazel, Black poplar, Willow, Black dogs, Black bulls, Black lambs, Myrrh, Civet, Camphor, Aloe, Menstrual blood, Red mullet, Bread, Eggs, Cheese, Honey, Garlic, Apples, Figs, Pomegranate

Festivals

  • Day of Hekate at the Crossroads (Modern observance – 31st October or 30th November) .
  • Hecatesia (Modern observance – 13th or 16th August or 16th November) .
  • Hekate’s Night (Modern observance – 16th November) .
  • Last Day (Last day of the lunar month (ancient calendar)) Held on the dark/new moon

Ways to honor

Keep sacred the Deipnon and Her festivals. Study magic and prophecy, particularly theurgy, as she is the patron of that art. Go for walks at night, or among strange places. Aid fellow travelers and strangers, especially if they have dogs. (Or are wild dogs!) Appreciate the weird and uncanny.

More…

Articles

Ancient Hymns and Texts

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Modern Hymns and Devotions

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Primary Sources

  • Apollodorus’ Library 1.6.2
  • Apollonius Rhodius’ Argonautica 3.477-478, 3.528-530, 3.1035-1041, 3.1207-1224, 4.827-829
  • Chaldaean Oracles
  • Euripides’ Ion 1049
  • Euripides’ Phoenician Women 109-110
  • Hesiod’s Theogony 409-452
  • Homeric Hymn to Demeter 2.25-62, 2.438-440
  • Lucian’s Pharsalia 4.839-40
  • Vergil’s Aeneid 4.511, 4609-610, 6.247
  • Papyri Graeci Magicae 36.187-210
  • Pausanias’ Descriptions of Greece 1.43.1, 2.30.2
  • Theocritus’ Idylls 2

Links

Modern Books

Hecate