by Dragon Star
The figure of Hecate plays a seemingly minor and yet crucial role in the tale of Demeter (The Grain Mother). Hecate is the dark face of the Moon Goddess, and so 'Shadow' side of the self, she witnessed the abduction of Persephone (Daughter of Demeter) and was able to act as mediator when Demeter attempted negotiation with Zeus to rescue her daughter. Here we see the Hecate image as that which works to bring together the lost parts of the total self. Hecate is also the Goddess of Illumination and Purification. She presides over Persephone's Initiation into the mysteries of the Underworld, or the 'down-going' of herself into her own unconscious, going with her also, in her return to the upper world, and spiritual integration. Hecate is the completion of the trinity;(Artemis, Selena, Hecate) the Crone united with the Maiden and Mother, thus her title of Hecate Triformus where the three phases of the Moon come together.
Khai: "I shall descend to defeat and overthrow"
Hecate is the Ancient Goddess of the Crossroads, that all seeing Watcher who looks into the past, present and future, she also rules Heaven, Earth, and the Underworld. She holds the three keys of Birth, Death and Rebirth. She is the visionary Shamaness who stands at the point where four directions meet. She is the intuitive divinity associated with Magic and Prophecy. Hecate is thought to have evolved from the old Egyptian-Draconian midwife Hekat, a wise-woman(Witch) who was in command of the "Great Mother's words of power". Being the sacred midwife, the Goddess Hekat assisted in the birth of the Sun (Ra) each morning, out of the body of Nuit. She is represented as a Goddess with the head of a frog, and is a major totem in the Draconian Current. An image of transformations, Hekat brings astral forms into visible manifestation, she is also a symbol of those 'Leapers' who jump the paths backward and forward on the night or day sides of the Tree OL. In the Thelema of the Grantian OTO she is one with Coph Nia as mentioned in Liber Legis, and 'The eye of Manifestation on the Backward paths', an embodiment of the Ma Ion or the Aeon of Maat. Hekat steers the Night-Moon Boat, and guided it through the underworld by day.
Khait: "If you know me not, I shall bring you to ruin"
In ancient Greece Hecate was the divinity of the underworld, originally reflecting the phases of the moon, symbolic of the three ages of Woman. Later she was made into a child of Hera and Zeus. In this myth, she caused the anger of her Mother by stealing Hera's rouge, and then hid in the bed of a Woman who was giving birth. This contact with puerperal (Child-bearing) blood rendered Hecate impure and so she was plunged into the Acheron (one of the rivers leading to Hades) to cleanse her, but she ended up being carried away by the river-flow (A Plutonian event). Her stealing of Hera's rouge is perhaps a metaphor for the terminus of Hera's bleeding, leading to menopause, and the onset of Hecate's own menses which was typified here as the 'stealing of her mother's blood' Hera is a Goddess of power, but a great deal of her power is invested in being Zeus' wife. (This myth coming from a patriarchal age) Hera is not a Goddess who willingly surrenders her empowerment,. Like many dominant Women, she is fearful of the change of menopause. Hecate then becomes a 'scape-goat' and is blamed for the event. In the ancient myths the Blood is the Life- as well as Spirit. By hiding in the child-bed, Hecate is breaching a taboo that made the blood of the wise-wound set aside as Holy. Although she becomes impure, it is but the activation of her own Initiation into the Mysteries of the Mother Blood, as well as her own Spiritual Being.
Khaiti: "I am the slayer and that which is slain"
As a result of this rite of passage, she was made the Underworld Goddess, and lived in a cave at the threshold of Hades. The Goddess of Tombs and Enchantment, this is Hecate the Old Dark One of the Shadows. Mistress of Magic, her crossroads indicate her to be a Goddess of making choices, discrimination and of 'Showing the Way'. She is at her most powerful when the moon wanes, the mystical time for journey work into the Underworld via Dreams and Visions. (Victims of murder were often buried at a crossroad, so that the Goddess could direct them into rebirth). It is my own personal belief (that of Frater Adonai) that she also is the Mystery of the 'Dark side of the Moon' which never turns its face toward Earth at all in Astronomy, thus the Greatest Lunar Mystery of all.
(Footnote 1)
Khaitiu: " I am the overthrower of the enemies of Darkness and Light"
Hecate rules over the great crossroads of life, Birth, Puberty, Marriage, Menopause, Old Age and Death- as well as Rebirth beyond. She is manifest most strongly when the primal Feminine power comes closest to surface consciousness. These are times of Initiation, of going deep into the self for both Men and Women, for the most part Women tend to be more aware of this process. Hacate holds a torch with which to light the darkness, and thus performs the function of taking one deep into the Mystery of the Shadow--be it Jungian or otherwise (such as Egyptian). The linking up, or Yoga of the conscious with the unconscious self. She is thus a perfect guide for any inner work.
Khaitet: " I shall lift you up from your sickness of heart"
The Hecate-Woman is our link between the different levels of consciousness, and moves between these realms with confidence. This is the Sorceress, the Wise-Witch, the Lady of Mystery. She who understands the Magickal Mystery of Life and Death and Ever Living Rebirth. She removes the fears of old age and mortality. She it is who holds a dark enchantment over all men. Hecate, Hekit, Hekhuwa, Lilith, Morganna, Kali and Madam Bridget are but a few of her names. The Woman Mysterious who facinates men with her aura of enchantment, Dark and Foreboding, and the threat of some unseen destructive power.
Khaibit: "For I am the Shadow of Mystery and Enchantment"
The Hecate Shadow may well be linked to this facination, and to dark powers used to unconsciously manipulate or coerce vampyre-wise those around her. Beware O Man! You have been warned! Her link to the depths is great, but the awareness of a Shadow is shallow, and so, everything dark and mysterious is projected onto 'another' as in the case of Hecate-attuned men. Thus in the outer world, the Hecate Shadow will constantly encounter that which he or she avoids owning within Him or Herself--THE POWER. When the Hecate Man or Woman does not consciously own this power, and so does not use it with Wisdom, then they may well take others down into the Darkness, but will deny the responsibility, thereby ensuring their own disintegration..
"Place upon my Altar an offering of your past, that which you wish to let go"
The positive Hecate archetype is very helpful for those making a rite of passage or any transition whatsoever. She will guide Dreamers and Soul Travelers through the hidden worlds of spirit, and will Initiate them into other dimensions of consciousness. As the Goddess of the Underworld, Hecate is waiting to help us whenever we meet an end, or face a loss. She will reach out her Dark Hand to draw us down into the Darkness. She will go with us on our journey into transition or Transformation. Our ally in the Darkness of deepest night, even the Dark Night of the Soul, which is her domain. She is with us to offer Wise Counsel, to show us how to let go of the past and get on with the Work of our TRUE WILL. This is the Crone Hecate, who lights the way as torch-bearer and will share with us the OLD WISDOM forgotten.
"I am the Witch in the Shadows who will show you the way to Transformation"
When the Hecate Woman (or Man) consciously integrates the Shadow and owns that Power, then that one can act as a light for those who are attempting to part the veil and who can help us bring together those lost parts of the self, long forgotten. Hecate is our personal link to those archetypes dwelling deep within the collective unconscious.
"My deep darkness shall make your future bright"
"Hecate is the gaurdian figure of the mysterious depths of our unconscious that access the collective memory of the primal void and whirling forces at the onset of creation" - (Mysteries of the Dark Moon-Demetra George)
"But when the moon slipped away, shrinking gracefully into its own death, there were no festivities. The nights grew blacker and the mortals guarded themselves against visiting spirits from the Underworld. Hoards of ghosts led by Hecate and her baying hounds roamed the Earth on moonless nights. Yet she protected those mortals who purified themselves in Her name. With faces averted they offered Her ritual suppers at lonely crossroads, the gathering place of spirits. When Hecate's rites were observed, the black nights passed silently one into another. But if the Goddess was defied, She unleashed the power of her wrath and swept over the earth, bringing storms and destruction. Animals howled in fright, while her ghosts stalked freely. Hecate's disturbances were fierce, yet not all of the mortals feared them. Some longed to join her. In the dark of the moon Her covens awaited near drooping willow trees. She appeared suddenly before them with the torch and her hounds. A nest of serpents writhing in her hair, some shedding, some renewing. Until the new moon slit the sky, Hecate revealed mysteries of Magic not yet known. Those who knew her understood. They saw that form was not fixed, and watched as tree became human which became animal and tree into human again. They witnessed the power of her sacred herbs: Smilax, Mandragora, Poppy, Aconite. Awesome were her skills but she always taught the same lesson: Without Death and Rebirth there can be no Life.('Lost Goddesses of Early Greece'-Charlene Spretnak) Footnote 1:
Egyptian Glossary of Words:
Khai: To descend to slay, defeat, overthrow
Khai-t: Slaughter, massacre, ruin
Khai-ti: Slain, Slayer
Khaitiu: To slay the enemies of Ra and Asar: Sickness, to be lifted up, Exalted one, Ra, Uatchit, lether bag, sling, grain, wheat, Altar, Table of offerings,
Khaibit: Shade, Shadow,
Agape Dragon Star!
Hecate or Hekate is the representation of three worlds, the Heavens, the Earth and the Underworld; having rule over all. I have recently found some correlations between Hekate and few of the other Greek Gods that seem very interesting to me, namely Aphrodite. As Venus Genetrix of the Latins, a patron-goddess of childbirth. Here she Aphrodite was head of a group of three goddesses and recieved like Hekate sacrifieces of dogs. Some of the surnames of Aphrodite suggest a likeness. Skotia "the dark one" and associated among the Erinyes akin but not the same as the Moirai of which Hekate was numbered and the Chief of.. The surname Androphonos "killer of men" and Tymborychos "the gravedigger" Epitymbidia is "she upon the graves" The surname Persephaessa Aphrodite is invoked as the Queen of the Underworld. The surname Pasiphaessa "the far-shining" associates her to the Moon. And the Romans identified the goddess of love with the goddess of death when compared to the name Venus Libitina.
Hecate is also associated with Apollon and Artemis, who are also named Hekatos and Hekate. Which makes prefect since, Apollo (Hekatos) as the Male aspect of Hekate and Artemis (Hekate) as another aspect of the many formed Hekate. The Sun and the Moon..
I am of the belief that the many Gods and Goddess of the Greeks were the same original Twelve Titans split up into different aspects of their personalities.
Just my thoughts. -- Safe Journeys, Estera
