Goddess of the Week

Hekate is the Greek Goddess of witchcraft, the night, and magic. She is one of the Titanes, the old guard of the Gods, and She is a triple Goddess, of the Moon, Earth, and the Underworld, having powers over the sky, earth and sea. Crossroads, especially those where three roads meet, are sacred to Her, as are hounds. She is sometimes described as a ghostly figure, who goes around at the dead of night trailing ghosts and spectral hounds; and She protects travelers, especially those out on lonely roads at night.

She was usually said to be the daughter of the Titanes Perses ("Destroyer") and Asteria ("Starry One"); Her name means "She Who Works From Afar." She is associated with the night and the dark.

She was depicted in ancient art with torches to light the night; and She is the only Goddess Who helped Demeter search for Her daughter Persephone after She was abducted by Haides. And after it was decided that Persephone would spend a part of the year in the Underworld as its Queen, Hekate chose to accompany Her as friend and adviser.

The last day of the month was sacred to Her, meaning the last day of the lunar month, or the dark of the moon before the new moon is sighted. Since that was yesterday, I'd say Her timing is impeccable.

She's a psychopomp, in some ways, I think, given Her torches and the ghosts that follow Her; and in some parts of Greece, like Eleusis, home of the famous Mysteries, She was paired with Hermes, both of Them having parts in the ritual return of Persephone to the world.

Though She's Greek, not Celtic, I always associate Hekate with the season of Samhain, late autumn when the leaves are off the trees (at least in New England); and though it's Beltaine here now, it is Samhain in the southern hemisphere. Up here, though, it's all flowers and new green grass and leaves, and the light is getting brighter and brighter; perhaps, She is reminding us that the two, the dark and the light, are always to be found together, and that the light carries within it the seed of the dark, just as the dark carries within it the seed of the light.

Like I said She has aspects of a psychopomp, the Soul Guide Who guides the spirit to the Underworld (and back, sometimes); perhaps She tells of a journey into something to retrieve its opposite this week, or that we are embarking on a journey of soul retrieval, if even a little one at this time. This card could also serve as a heads-up to look deeper and more closely at a situation that may appear to be very bright indeed; not, necessarily, as an exercise in pessimism (of needing to find the misery in the middle of happiness) but as a lesson in balance and seeing the true whole.

So, as always, I ask, What do You say, Lady?

You are a Witch. Do not forget that. I do not forget.

I am fearsome and I am compassionate both. I am invoked in curses and I protect the alone and frightened. I am powerful in dark magic, and many a black she-lamb has had its throat cut to me; also I helped a grieving Mother find Her lost Girl. But mostly, I am Woman's friend. I am very old, and do not side with the patriarchs. Even Zeus fears me.

He would not cast me into Tartaros with the other Titanes; He did not dare. But what good would that have done Him anyway? It is my realm already. But He will not harm me. He does not dare. Remember that, too.

What would you know now? Within the light there is dark, always. You see the light within the dark, do you not? At winter's lowest point what do you do--light a candle, decorate your homes with tiny lights, twinkling as my Mother, the starry void. All I ask is you do the same in the season of light. Find the shadows now. Seek them out. Be whole.

I'm not, myself, sure how to go about doing that. Any ideas? What do you think?


References: mainly Theoi, Aaron Atsma's amazing site on Greek mythology, which has extensive primary sources quoted and organized by Deity, hero, demi-god, &c. Go check it out (if you haven't already).