Hekate: Mysterious and Mystical Knowledge
Fear of the Mysterious and Mystical
Society, religion, the patriarchy, and toxic men fear the mystical, the “supernatural”, and wild aspects of women. Historically, any woman showing otherworldly knowledge or intuition has been cast as a dark and unnatural person to be feared: a witch.
We are taught that witches are green old hags whose purpose is to inflict harm; malevolent entities who curse and trick humans to steal their souls in service of “satan”.
But being a witch is very far from that. Witchcraft is as simple as tapping into your intuition, connecting with the earth (Mother Nature), understanding the ebb and flow of life, learning about herbs and natural remedies, and using all of those things to help others.
Fear of Magickal Knowledge
All of these things are what magick is. And magick, at its core, connects us to the Divine Feminine.
Being in tune with the natural world is hardly something to fear. But those who want to control people know that they need to control knowledge.
Knowledge is power. Ignorant people are easier to control. Fearful people are even easier to control.
A campaign of misinformation and slander against witches to make people afraid of them led to killing them and driving them into hiding. People were afraid of witches, so they killed them. Witches were afraid of people, so they went into hiding.
Witchcraft and the knowledge that comes with it went underground. It became a hidden, secret knowledge shared only with those people who could be trusted. It became mysterious and mystical rather than natural. It became a dangerous, wild thing – a wild animal to be feared rather than understood.
Fewer and fewer people had the knowledge that witchcraft provided.
Fewer and fewer connected with their intuition, with Mother Nature: the divine feminine in its most basic form.
Fewer and fewer felt the pulse of magick that comes from the ebb and flow of life.
Fewer and fewer had the knowledge of herbs and natural remedies, that knowledge was replaced by remedies gatekept by corporations.
Enter Hekate
Hekate is primarily known as the Goddess of Witchcraft. She is also associated with the underworld, death, childbirth, angels, the moon, the nighttime, magick, gates/gateways. She is the goddess of the liminal: the world between worlds. She is the goddess of dusk, when the sunlight is fading and the dark approaches. She is the guardian of the crossroads.
Hekate is the Divine Feminine representation of mystical, magickal knowledge.
She has been very busy of late.
Some say she is “building an army”, but I wouldn’t call it an army. An army evokes violence, control, and hierarchy and Hekate wants none of those things.
Hekate wants to open minds, eyes, and hearts. Hekate wants to share knowledge.
Rather than building an army, I would say that Hekate is taking her keys and opening the gates to mystical knowledge, to knowledge of the divine feminine.
Hekate has been whispering her name in the ears of those who will listen. Her whispers have been reaching more and more people. The more her name is spoken, the more her ability to reach people expands.
Her message is simple and clear.
“This knowledge must not be kept locked behind this gate any longer. You are a witch. You have magick flowing in your veins along with each drop of blood. You belong to the natural world. You are a child of Mother Nature, of the divine feminine. Magick connects you to her. Magick is not to be feared, but to be shared. Everyone has magick. Magick is your birthright.”
Do Not Fear
You don’t need to be afraid of Hekate or working with her.
Always beware of anyone who gatekeeps knowledge of her or tries to tell you to be afraid of her.
Know these things about Hekate:
She is esteemed above all. She is given “splendid gifts”: a share of the earth, of the sea, and of starry heaven. (Hesiod, “The Theogony”, written roughly 2700 years ago).
She is “Savior (Soteira), Mother of Angels, and the Cosmic World Soul (Anima Mundi).” (from the Chaldean Oracles)
Hardly someone to fear, right?
In my personal experience, Hekate is like the kind of Mother I always needed. She provides love, advice, and knowledge.
As any good Mother, sometimes she can be direct and may not always tell you what you want to hear. But she will tell you what you *need* to hear.
She can shake up your life, no question about it. But her intentions, her goals, are not baneful. They are strong and powerful, loving and kind.
At the Crossroads
Hekate typically comes into your life when you are at a crossroads. Collectively, I believe that we are all at that crossroads (clearly within the United States this is clear, but I believe this truly a turning point for the whole of Earth).
Being at a crossroads means you are at a fork in the road where you can choose to keep going the way you have always gone or shift into a life of deeper purpose.
An easy analogy from modern culture is the choice given to Neo in “The Matrix”. Take one pill to awaken you to a reality that you didn’t see before. Take the other pill and go back to sleep, go back to the simulation.
Hekate is giving you a choice to awaken to the divine feminine – the reality that has been hidden from us, that we have been asleep to.
Will you awaken and learn about the Divine Feminine?
Or will you choose to go back to the world devoid of her knowledge?
ACTIVITY: Connecting with Hekate and Your Intuition
What you will need:
A quiet place and roughly a half an hour.
Your mind.
A notepad.
Step 1: Connect to your senses
Imagine yourself in your favorite natural space – a park, a forest, a lake, an ocean, maybe even your backyard – some place you feel peaceful.
Try to connect your senses to this space while you are not there.
Do you see images of this place?
Does thinking of this place evoke a smell memory?
Does thinking of this place evoke an audible/sound memory?
Does thinking of this place evoke a sensation in your body? A tactile memory?
Does thinking of this place evoke thoughts or feelings?
Which of these comes across most strongly for you? Which is clearest? The clearest one is most likely how you connect to your intuition and to spirit.
Step 2: Connect to the Elements
While in your favorite natural space, using whichever sense came across most strongly for you, imagine the elements: earth, air, fire, and water surrounding you in a safe, protective way. As you connect with these elements, know you are protected and guarded.
For example, if you got images most strongly, do you see these elements? In what configuration?
If sound was strongest, what do they sound like?
If it is smell, what do they smell like? And so on.
Don’t worry if you can’t describe it, the key point of this is to connect that sense which is most clear for you and connect to the natural elements using it.
Step 3: Connecting to Hekate using your Intuition
You are still in your natural space, and you are surrounded by the energy of the elements protecting you and sending positive energy to you. From this energetic space, ask Hekate to connect with you. “Mighty Hekate, Guardian of the Crossroads, I humbly ask for you to join me in this safe place, to let me know your energy is with me, so that I can feel what your energy is like and better know you.”
Take a few moments to identify (using the same sense as before) any shift in your energy and how that comes across to you in your senses. You may not feel anything right away but sit with the feeling for a few moments.
Step 4: Asking Hekate
Next you will ask Hekate for information – but not about a specific issue or question. Simply ask Hekate if there is something she wants to share with you. “Might Hekate, is there anything you would like to tell me, is there anything you want me to know?”
Wait quietly and see if you get any information from your clear sense. What does she want you to know? Feel free to ask her any clarifying questions you may have.
Note: when connecting to the Divine, you will never get an angry or scary message. If you get a message that is hurtful, scary, or angry, it isn’t from her. It may be a part of yourself that has been conditioned to believe that connecting to your intuition is evil. Should you get a message like this, take a deep breath, acknowledge it and call it out. “I know the fear is coming from somewhere other than Hekate, and I know I do not need to be afraid. I ask you Hekate to help me overcome this fear so that I may know your message to me.”
Step 5: Thanking Hekate and the Elements
Once you have gotten the message from Hekate, thank her for the understanding and information she has given you and letting her know you will connect with her more often and be open to her messages for you. As her energy departs, thank the elements for their protection of you and release them.
Step 6: Journal
Write down any information you received so that you can come back to it later. How do you feel about the information you received? What did Hekate’s energy feel like? What do you feel like after this exercise?
This activity helps you connect with your intuition and with the divine feminine through Hekate. This is what magick feels like.
I recommend repeating this activity often. The more you connect with her, the more you will be able to recognize her energy. She may come to you outside of these sessions, so when you recognize her energy, you can pay attention to any message she may have. Know that she will come with the protection of the elements which you established.
Last thoughts:
If Hekate’s message to you was very clear, I recommend paying attention to what she says. Obviously don’t do anything that you aren’t comfortable with (and remember the note that she will not ask you to do anything evil and she will not ask you to do anything that goes against your moral compass). She has been known to shake things up, and she may put you outside of your comfort zone, but not against your moral compass.
If you choose to ignore her messages, she will either get more urgent or she will go silent. Remember that Hekate’s guidance is meant to help you through this crossroads. If you choose to stay in the simulation, she will accept your free will and not come back. It is your choice, of course. I believe the value she brings will far outweigh being outside your comfort zone. As they say, “Everything you want is on the other side of your comfort zone.”
Welcome, child of Hekate, to the crossroads. May each interaction bring you information for your best and highest good and may we each have the day we deserve.
Blessed be,
Maeve
Looking for more ways to connect deeper with Hekate? Here are some book recommendations:
Keeping Her Keys: An Introduction to Hekate's Modern Witchcraft and
Entering Hekate’s Cave: The Journey Through Darkness to Wholeness
By Cyndi Brannen, Phd
Dr. Brannen is the first author that Hekate directed me to and honestly both of these books are my favorite books on Hekate. Keeping Her Keys is an excellent book for those wanting to develop a devotional practice to Hekate. This book culminates with an initiation ceremony where you are gifted a key of self-initiation and a name. This is where Hekate gifted me with the name Maeve. She also gifted me a name that I use privately for rituals, one that I do not share with anyone. The Initiation ceremony started a pivotal shift for me.
Entering Hekate’s Cave dives deeper into your spiritual journey and the ways that Hekate helps us in different areas of our lives. The rituals of Soul Retrieval Journey and the Rebirth Ritual in Entering Hekate’s Cave helped heal childhood trauma and were life changing for me.
As Dr. Brannen says in the book, she has a “you do you” approach to Hekatean witchcraft, so feel free to let your intuition guide you through them.
Hekate: Goddess of Witches by Courtney Weber
Hekate: Goddess of Witches is an excellent compendium of the various myths and stories about Hekate. Courtney Weber makes the mythology accessible and provides excellent context as well as lovely rituals and spells. She gives a personal perspective that helped me connect with Hekate in a different way. This book is a great place to start to get to know Hekate better, without being overwhelmed by the minutiae of the mythology.
A Year of Hekate: Invocations and Prayers for Every Day for a Year by Marcus Black
A Year of Hekate is much more of a journal / workbook structure. Marcus Black provides rituals, prayers, and invocations for each day along with space to write your thoughts or comments after each. This too is better in a print version rather than audio or eBook so that you can take advantage of the workbook spaces.
Liber Kthonia: A Contemporary Witchcraft & Devotional Tradition of Hekate by Jeff Cullen
Liber Kthonia is an amazing and deep devotional to Hekate, given with such emotion and heart by Jeff Cullen that you truly feel her presence in his words. Jeff Cullen is a true artist and his words as well as his art will move you. This book is available on his website only, so the link provided allows you to see his artistry as well. I recommend this book as well as perusing his art.
Hekate Liminal Rites: A Study of The Rituals, Magic and Symbols of the Torch-Bearing Triple Goddess of the Crossroads by Sorita D’Este and David Rankine
Hekate Liminal Rites is what I would describe as a reference book. This book details the specific references to Hekate in the Greek Magical Papyri and the Chaldean Oracles. I would not recommend the audio book version of this as it entails a lot of reading of reference tables and loses much of its value. It is an excellent summary of the rituals and symbols referenced in the historic texts. From the point of view of connecting with Hekate I would say this provides less connection and more of an academic perspective.
Below is the full text (413-455) from The Theogony, Hesiod about Hekate:
“And she bore Hecate, whom Zeus son of Cronos
Has esteemed above all and given splendid gifts,
A share of the earth as her own, and of the barren sea.
She has received a province of starry heaven as well,
And is most highly esteemed by the deathless gods.
For even now when any man upon earth
Sacrifices and prays according to ancestral rites,
He calls upon Hecate and is greatly blessed
If the goddess propitiously receives his prayers,
And riches come to him, for she has the power.
She has a share of the privileges of all the gods
That were ever born of Earth and Heaven.
Nor did Cronos’ Son violate or reduce
What she had from the earlier gods, the Titans.
She keeps what she had in the primeval allotment.
Nor does the goddess, since she is an only child,
Have any less privilege on earth, sea, or heaven,
But all the more, since Zeus privileges her.
Whom she will, she greatly aids and advances,
And makes preeminent in the assembly,
And she sits beside reverend kings in judgment.
And when men arm themselves for devastating war,
The goddess is at their sides, ready to give victory
And bestow glory upon whomever she will,
Good at standing by horsemen she wishes to help.
When men compete in athletic contests,
The goddess stands by them too, knows how to help,
And the triumphant victor wins a beautiful prize
For his prowess and strength, and praise for his parents.
And those who work the surly gray sea
Pray to Hecate and the booming Earthshaker,
And the goddess easily sends a big catch their way,
Or removes one in sight, as she wills in her heart.
She is good, with Hermes, at increasing stock in a pen,
Droves of cattle, herds of goats on a plain,
Flocks of wooly sheep—if she wills in her heart
She can multiply them or make them diminish. 450
And so although she is her mother’s only child,
She is a privileged goddess among the Immortals.
And the Son of Cronos made her a nurse of the young
Who from that day on saw with their eyes
The light of Dawn that sees all.
So from the beginning
She is a nurse of the young.
These are Hecate’s honors.”
