#Hekate Deity

[the-purvashadha]

When you step into sunlight, you honor Apollo. When you admire the moon, you honor Artemis. When you admire cloud shapes, you honor Hera. When you smell petrichor, you honor Zeus. When you laugh at a joke, you honor Hermes. When your body twitches to dance at a particularly upbeat music, you honor Dinoysus. When you enjoy the first bite of your breakfast, you honor Demeter. When you choose your peace over any conflict, you honor Athena. When you warm yourself up by sheltering yourself in blanket, you honor Hestia. When you listen to Ocean sounds, you honor Poseidon. When you smell flowers, you honor Persephone. When you admire the coolness of first day of Autumn, you honor Hades. When you wear your favourite jewellery, you honor Hephaestus. When you smile, you honor Aphrodite. When you exercise, you honor Ares. When you light a torch in a dark room, you honor Hekate.

Your body is a shrine to Gods, your being an act of devotion for them. You, by yourself, are enough for them.

[fabledfoxglove]

✧ ʜᴇᴄᴀᴛᴇ • ɢᴏᴅᴅᴇss ᴏғ ᴍᴀɢɪᴄ, ᴅᴏɢs, ᴛʜᴇ ᴍᴏᴏɴ, ᴛʜᴇ ɴɪɢʜᴛ, ᴄʀᴏssʀᴏᴀᴅs, & ɢʜᴏsᴛs ✧

[royal-wren]

In honor of Pride, I'm going to list a few Hellenic deities to think of more actively during this time

Aphrodite: Historically known to be intersex and trans, especially under the name Aphroditos. Not to mention as a goddess of love, that means all kinds of love and expressions of it. Everyone in the LGBT+ umbrella can turn to her without worry.

Apollon: He is known for epithets like the Unshorn, and for literally wearing feminine clothing for the time.

Artemis: Known for embracing masculinity and more masculine traits like her interests, mannerisms, and appearance (attire). Also known to be aro/ace spec.

Athene: Most know her to lean more toward masculinity, but she's more an equal mix of both masculine and feminine (nonbinary by human terms). Also known to be aro/ace spec and wlw as well.

Dionysos: Like Apollon, is known for wearing feminine clothing for the time and occasionally a feminine appearance to match. Embracing the unconventional and what lies outside of society's standards and mentalities is his thing, and it shows with epithets like Androgynos.

Hekate: A goddess of the liminal (everything in between), boundaries, and transitions, of paths and crossroads (which are more than physical ones).

Hera: As a goddess of women, that includes every kind of woman no matter what, there is no room to try and exclude anyone from that. She's also a goddess of marriage and one to lean on for rights on that matter.

Hermes: A god of the liminal, the god of transitions, boundaries, paths, and roads, and a god of romantic unions, the god of fire - the literal and figurative sparks that ensue as a god of friction, a weigher of love like Aphrodite. Before the late Classical and Hellenistic periods was also known to be aro/ace spec as outside of cultic unions, a majority of his immortal (and deity) children are goddesses as well, and he has two nonbinary (one intersex) children, Palaistra and Hermaphroditos, and occasionally the father of Eros either by Aphrodite or Artemis (and no this is real, you're just not ready for this conversation on this information).

Leto: In worship, she has the cult epithet Phystiê (the Grafter) that relates to a myth of her helping Leukippe transition at the wishes of his mother to avoid death. With the grafter epithet, she has a festival in her honor, Ekdysia (Stripping (Festival)). One of her sacred animals is the Ichneumon (Egyptian Mongoose), which was known to be both male and female in an individual member of the species.

Palaistra: The goddess of wrestling and daughter of Hermes is nonbinary, being both genders at once and neither at the same time

The Erotes: It kind of goes without saying that they should be here for a month of love, identity, and acceptance.

The Kharites: As goddesses of joy, merriment, and festivity/celebration, it feels as essential to have them here as the Erotes are. During Pride, they will lift your spirits and cause you to cheer.

[diana-thyme]

Greek Gods 101: Hecate

Hecate is a goddess of witchcraft, Magic, night, the moon, ghosts, and necromancy. Excluding the universal offerings, some common offerings include:

Divination Tools

Witchcraft Tools

Imagery of the Moon or Stars

Imagery or Depictions of Ghosts

Imagery or Depictions of Torches

Items Associated with Hunting (Boots, Bows, Arrows, Bones, Etc.)

Imagery or Depictions of Dogs

Imagery or Depictions of Polecats

Depictions of Darkness

Veils

For devotional acts, some activities that can be done for her include:

Performing Spells

Watching the Night Sky

Stargazing

Learning About Astronomy

Visiting Graveyards

Visiting Crossroads and Other Liminal Spaces

Lighting Candles to Help Ghosts Find Their Way

Volunteering at Animal Shelters

Hunting

She is celebrated in 4 Athenian holidays:

Hekate’s Deipnon

Noumenia

Lesser Mysteries

Heliogenna

[tinyscaredwitch]

my altar looks so full with my candle offering to Lord Hermes 🥹

i really want to get more items for Lady Hekate ♡

i might rearrange everything next week i think hehe

[esoteric-chaos]

Hekate's Blessing Deity Oil

"HEKATE (Hecate) was the goddess of magic, witchcraft, the night, moon, ghosts and necromancy." - Theoi

I work with Mother Hekate to heal generational trauma, dream work, introspection, and my clairsenses. I venerate her on Saturdays as the planetary correspondences of Saturn fit her well.

She's been with me for over a decade, since the start of my practice. She took on the mother figure role when I personally did not have anyone.

This blog is actually dedicated to her for helping others learn about witchcraft and the occult.

She's a stern teacher, who will take off your training wheels on your bike and push you. However, she'll help you up when you fall. She's kind and nurturing when you need it.

I made an oil for her to call upon her. I use it to carry her with me, to wear for certain purposes and as a candle-dressing. It helps me with my intuition, clairsenses, protection, spiritual communication and divination.

You will need

A clean and cleansed jar

Myrrh - The moon, introspection, protection, spiritual connection, she just loves myrrh (UPG)

Cypress - Historical herb, strength, protection, enhances spirit connection, grief

Lavender - Dreamwork, enhances spirit connections, peace

Thyme - Clairsenses

Carrier Olive Oil - Traditional offering

You can either do the folk method or the hot method. You can find my post on infused oils here to learn how to make infused spell oils. I suggest if you are an animist or someone who wants more power from your oils. Speak to the herbs kindly, treat them less like an ingredient and ask them respectfully for their aid and the purpose they'll have in your oil. Use intention. The same goes for the Olive oil.

You can sub any of these, however, Cypress is historical for her. So is Olive Oil among the Greeks. Try to keep within the theme of the underworld, death, spiritual connection and psychic work.

Blessings!

Looking for all of my posts in one place? Check out the Masterpost

[thegodsaremyhome]

Hekate’s Deipnon

History

In Greek, “deipnon” means evening meal, usually the largest meal of the day. Hekate’s Deipnon was a special feast held on the final day of every lunar month, during the New Moon. It’s main purpose was to honor Hekate and placate vengeful souls who were unavenged or wrongfully killed. However, it was also a day for purifying the self, the home, and the altar, and atoning for any wrongdoings that may have cause Hekate to withdraw Her favor. Some accounts say that the poor and less fortunate were also given to on this day. It was said that those who were poor would come and take the offerings left on Hekate’s altar outside. And while some believed this incurred the wrath of Hekate, others believed this was welcomed by the Goddess.

Foods most often mentioned used as offerings on the Deipnon were typically offerings associated with the dead, like raw eggs, small cakes garlic/leeks/onions, and fish. The offering was placed on or inside the household altar to Hekate after sunset. The altar was usually located outside their door, as the street in front of the house and the doorway created a 3-way crossroad, which was sacred to Hekate. After the meal was left out, they would not look back. believing that any spirits there would become enraged if anyone saw them. Athenians would then spend the rest of the Deipnon inside. 

If a household believed that one or more of it’s residents commited an act against Hekate and lost Her favor, they would all perform a ritual involving the sacrifice of a dog, her sacred animal. They would each touch the dog, transfering their misdeeds into it, then sacrifice it. Following the sacrifice, they would do a divination reading with it’s entrails to ensure that the sacrifice was accepted by Hekate.

Cleaning and purification was also an important part of Hekate’s Deipnon, which was executed in two parts. Part one was fumigation, where one would carry a censer made of clay burning insence through the house. Afterwards, they would place the censer on the altar or at a crossroads for disposal. It wasn’t used again, as it was seen as a leftover, which was disposed in the second part of the purification. Other leftovers included, ashes from incense or sacrifices, blood, or any remaining food that had fallen on the floor. This is because food that had fallen was said to belong to Hekate, which she would then distribute to the spirits. Leftovers were deposited on the altar, preferably at the same time as the meal since you weren’t supposed to look back at the altar once it was placed, and then they would go inside, lock their doors, and not come out again. However, it’s not clear how these offerings were then disposed the following day.

Modern Celebration

For your main offering, some do replace the meal with an offering of incense or something else. And while most don’t have an altar to Hekate outside as they did in ancient Greece, you can definitely just leave the offering on your altar to be disposed of in any way you see fit later. You could leave the offering on your altar, and then leave it at a crossroads outside if that space is available to you. Although our ritual leftovers, or “sweepings” would be different these days then back then, you could still offer ashes from incense and other burned offerings, leftovers from candles, or other leftovers from rituals of the previous month. If you do leave your food and sweepings at a crossroads, then try leaving them on a disposable plate, that way you can just throw the plate away in your trash can outside after. 

Donations of money, food, or volunteer work has become an increasingly popular way to celebrate. Any way you can think of to help those who are less fortunate than you. Even if it’s just donating a dollar to a charity you like. This is also a day to get any cleaning done that you would like. Tidying up your room, cleaning out the fridge, dusting and sweeping, etc. doesn’t have to be any deep cleaning, just the surface level stuff. Some clean out their Kathiskos* while also cleaning out their pantry, altough this could also be done on the following day Noumenia as well. Cutting ties from anything you don't want to bring into the next month, finding closure, and tying up any lose ends is what this holiday is all about. So try to fulfill any promises, or obligations from the previous month, as well as paying off any dues or debts if you can.

Other ways to celebrate:

Use this day to honor and remember your ancestors, passed on loved ones, and the spirits around you, if you work with spirits.

Do some sort of protective spell to put on your home

Do a ritual to cleanse yourself as well!

Sit in meditation, reflecting on the past month and things you are proud of yourself for achieving in this time. Maybe reach out to Hekate and ask for guidance if you need to do so.

You could also do a tarot reading, or any other means of divination that you wish to use in order to commune with Hekate.

Sources : Deipnon - Wikipedia  Hekate’s Deipnon - Hellenion  Hekate’s Deipnon - Backyard Banshee

Other links:

* Kathiskos - Hellonion

-Hellenic Festivals Masterlist-

[piristephes]

Prayer for purification to Hekate

O night-wandering Queen of Torches Mighty Hekate of door-arches, Mistress over beasts with teeth, black as Nyx. I praise thy holy faces, three as the realms above, along and below! I praise thy protective demeanor and your heavenly guidance! O lover of solitude and mysteries alike, Lovable Hekate of gentle mind. Come to my life and with resplendent flame, all ill ignite!

português:

Ó Rainha das Tochas que vagueia nas noites. Poderosa Hécate dos arcos das portas, Senhora das feras com presas, negras como Nix. Louvo tuas faces sagradas, três como os reinos acima, ao redor e abaixo! Louvo teu semblante protetor e tua celeste orientação! Ó amante da solitude e dos mistérios também, Amável Hécate de afável mente. Vem à minha vida e incendeie o mal com fogo resplandecente!

[ravenandmoon]

I'll meet you at the crossroads,

Mighty Goddess of the liminal spaces,

Borderless night-wanderer.

Hekate, born of the Stary Night,

She who blessed all the souls,

I'll let your darkness swallow me,

For i'm your devotee.

[underworldhadess]

Hecate or the Three Fates, 1795.

— William Blake (England, 1757–1827)

[devieboii]

I absolutely LOVE making my everyday activities devotional acts. Putting on makeup? Here ya go Lady Aphrodite. Making sure my hair looks good and styling it accordingly? Yeah of course Lord Dionysus. Cleaning my glasses? Say less I GOT you Lady Athena. Washing my face every morning and at night? Literally whatever you want Mother Hekate.

[sappho-saffyre]

I know that this is a couple days late, but in honor of Hekate, I participated in Deipnon. This would be my second time doing this, but this time I decided to go along with my instincts. I felt compelled to offer dark chocolate pomegranate seeds, blackberries, and a glass of pomegranate and blueberry sparkling soda. From what I gathered, these items aren't typical offers for Deipnon. But I've been wanting to learn how to use my intuition more often and so I wanted to use it for this New Moon. It just felt right to me. Are there any offerings my peeps give that aren't usually typical to their deity? I just wanted to share what's been on my brain.

xoxo

[emptypapertowelholdermodelx]

weekly rituals with my deities - a study in motivation, worship, routine, & relationships

while working with apollo today he approached the subject of my lack of relationship with the deities i have been worshipping. he acknowledged how it bothered me. while praying to hekate, she pushed the word “try” into my mind several times as i lamented about how i “couldn’t” keep up with everyone i wanted to, and how my faith was waning as i lacked devotion, focus, and motivation. apollo and hekate, together, suggested i pick a day of the week to worship each deity separately. j can continue my small, daily routines (sleep for hypnos, yoga for the morrigan, pills for apollo, etc.), but i may find it easier to pick a day to devote to each deity as well. i worship seven deities, and there are conveniently seven days in the week.

all of this was confirmed when i saw a post here about how i should do the same. i knew apollo and hekate sent the post my way to confirm what they were already telling me - sign, if you will. confirmation.

in that case, i’m writing my routines and devotional acts out here, as a way to stay motivated, accountable, and have it on hand whenever i need it.

every day i plan to pray to them more intensely than usual and offer something small, whether that be a portion of my meal, a flower i found, or a cool rock.

sunday; apollo’s day. pray to him, offer something to him. sunbathe in the window, or outside, in the morning. make a point to dedicate my medicine-taking to him. journal a little, and do a weekly tarot spread to honor his divination aspect.

monday; the morrigan’s day. pray to her, offer something to her. read one of my books about her. do an intense yoga routine to get the blood pumping - no skipping out on this! journal while praying to her.

tuesday; anpu’s day. pray to him, offer something to him. do some shadow work - this could be free writing, a tarot spread accompanied by journaling, or following some prompts. i’ve found that anpu really appreciates when i perform shadow work, and as a death deity, i think ill start a trend of working through my death trauma with him on tuesdays.

wednesday; hyacinthus’ day. pray to him, offer something to him. on wednesdays i will make a point to talk and pray to him while i water my plants, pick weeds, and check on the overall health of my garden and health plants. i’d like to also do some introspective journaling on love and the trauma i am working through, as hyacinthus’ main goal with me is to build a healthy relationship with my partner.

thursday; hypnos’ day. a soft, calm day. not much goes on. i offer to him, and pray to him. perhaps i can take an extra long nap. i can cleanse my bed altar, make it all tidy, and do some devotional prayers and restful activities in bed. i will also make a point to dedicate that night’s sleep to him, and invoke him to appear in my dreams if he’s willing.

friday; hekate’s day. offer to her and pray to her. read one of my books about her. perform a magical spell or ritual, no matter how big or small. right now it’s hard to do full blown spells as i’m working in the broom closet at my christian sisters house, so i don’t have much of my supplies. but manifestation and intention setting will be one way i can accomplish this.

saturday; hestia’s day. pray to her and offer to her. clean my room and tidy up my space in dedication to her. light a candle while i pray to her, and let her energy fill my room. maybe do some baking in her honor, like a sweet desert or an attempt at bread.

i am hoping to follow this routine for my gods and myself. this will help me refocus on my practice and get in touch my deities again, who i’ve been slightly neglecting in favor of doing nothing all day.

i had an insightful time with apollo and hekate, and hope they’re proud of me as i implement their ideas into the coming weeks <3

[morphic-mythos]

TRIVIA OBSCURA: books to honor Hekate

Disclaimer: this post is a perpetual WIP, serving as an archive of all the books I’ve read that I feel are appropriate for honoring Hekate. This includes books about Hekatean worship but also titles on witchcraft, occultism, cultural histories, death, and so on.

Other reading masterlists:

ARCANA OBSCURA: a personal occult library

DIVINA OBSCURA: a personal Hellenic library

MODERN WORSHIP

Keeping Her Keys, Cyndi Brannen

Entering Hekate's Garden, Cyndi Brannen

Entering Hekate's Cave, Cyndi Brannen

HISTORICAL WORSHIP

Hekate Liminal Rites, Sorita d'Este

WITCHCRAFT

Blood and Bones: Working with Shadow Magick and the Dark Moon, Kate Freuler

Rebel Witch, Kelly-Ann Maddox

Weave the Liminal: Living Modern Traditional Witchcraft, Laura Tempest Zakroff

MUSINGS & MEDITATIONS

Waking Up to the Dark, Clark Strand

Waking the Witch: Reflections on Women, Magic, and Power, Pam Grossman

Becoming Dangerous, Katie West

CULTURAL HISTORIES

Darkness: A Cultural History, Nina Edwards

Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Owen Davies

On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears, Stephen T. Asma

The Witch, Ronald Hutton

A History of Magic, Witchcraft, and the Occult, D.K. Publishing

DEATH & SPIRITS

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death, Caitlin Doughty

All the Living and the Dead, Hayley Campbell

[hekates-torch]

May Lady Hekate guide you through uncertain times