LORE OF HECATE
Hecate is at the same time a Goddess of
the Moon, of the Underworld, and of
Magick.
She dwelt in the Underworld,
alongside Hades and Persephone and the
minor deities Thanatos (Death), Hypnos
(Sleep), and Morpheus (Dreams).
But
like Persephone, She had power elsewhere
as well; while Persephone, daughter and
other self of the Corn Mother,
fructified the Earth every Spring,
Hecate held sway in the night sky, and
on Earth was a protectress of flocks and
of sailors and,of course,of Witches.
While Persephone was, so to speak, the
bright link between the Underworld and
the Earth, Hecate was the dark link.
One of the reputed entrances to the land
of shades was Lake Averna in Campania;
the hills around it used to be covered
with trees sacred to Hecate and pitted
with caves through which one summoned
the souls of the dead.
The
night-calling owl was Her messenger, and
the dark yew and the willow or osier
were Her trees; Witches' besoms were
traditionally bound with osier - without
that, they were said to be helpless.
Of all the Greek Goddessess, She was the
most markedly triple. She was at the
same time the three-phased Moon and, in
particular, its dark phase; to the
Romans, 'Diana Triformis' consisted of
Diana, Prosperina, and Hecate. (In Greek
terms, Artemis, Persephone, and
Hecate.)
She was depicted as three female figures
or as one with three animal heads - of
horse, dog, and boar, or sometimes three
dogs.Dogs were certainly associated with
Her (perhaps from their habit of howling
to the Moon and from their pathfinding
ability).
Sometimes She was
portrayed as a whelping bitch, and She
shared with Herne of the North the
reputation of leading the Wild Hunt of
ghostly hounds through the night.
She was, to both Greeks and Romans,
especially the Goddess of crossroads,
where travelers face three choices.
Statues of Her stood there, and food
offerings - 'Hecate's Supper' - were
taken there at the dead of night, on the
eve of the full Moon. One left the food
and walked away without looking back,
for none dared confront the eerie
Goddess face to face.
Her annual festival on August 13th in
Greece (and that of Diana on the same
date in Rome) was a propitiary one, to
avert the harvest-destroying storms
which the Moon was apt to send at around
that time.
She also haunted graveyards and the
scenes of crimes - as a Goddess of
expiation and purification.
Hecate is the Dark Mother, in both the
positive and the apparently negative
sense. She can send nightmares to
torment men's dreams; she can drive them
mad, if they are not integrated well
enough to cope with Her; but to those
who dare to welcome Her, She brings
creative inspiration.
She is Hecate
Antea, the Sender of Nocturnal Visions,
and, typically of a Moon Goddess, She
has a son - Museos, the Muse-man.
For divination, the Greeks used an
instrument called 'Hecate's Circle', a
golden sphere with a saphire hidden
inside it - Her mysterious Moon
concealing the bright seed of
understanding.
Her symbol is the torch, for the Dark
Mother also holds the light which
illuminates the Unconscious and reveals
its treasures.
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