templeswreathedinlaurel:

• Explanations of Hekate’s Deipnon, Noumenia, and Agathos Daimon 

  by @templeswreathedinlaurel

• How to Make a Kathiskos for Noumenia by @templeswreathedinlaurel
• Hekate’s
  Deipnon by Hellenion.org
• Noumenia by Hellenion.org
• Agathos
  Daimon by Hellenion.org
• Hymn to Hekate for the Deipnon by @templeswreathedinlaurel
• Explanations of Crossroads (for the Deipnon) by @qedavathegrey
• Kathiskos instructions for Noumenia by @baringtheaegis
• Tips for the Deipnon by @hekateanwitchcraft
• Noumenia Prayer by @ubiquitous-pearl
• Prayers for Each Day by @newprometheanorder
• Noumenia Hymn to Selene by @templeswreathedinlaurel
• Noumenia Prayer to Selene and Apollon by @templeswreathedinlaurel
• Poem to Apollon by @templeswreathedinlaurel
• Hymn to Hestia (Homeric Hymn #24)
• Explanation of Agathos Daimon by @diaphanee
• Hymn to Hestia and the Agathos Daimon by @templeswreathedinlaurel

nehetisingsforhekate:

Introductory Hekate F. A. Q.

1. How do I start?
I recommend starting simple. Write a basic prayer to Her, light a candle or some incense. Recite the prayer. Sit in silence afterwards. Allow the practice to grow. Items for your altar will be found, new practices will come to your attention.  As you are able, pick up books on Hekate, as well as books on the Ancient Greeks and Romans, and take your time. A spiritual life is not a race to the finish; there is no end.

2. What books would you recommend?
I’ll offer up three of varying intensity and approach. You will find a more extensive bibliography at the end of this FAQ.
Sorita D’Este’s Hekate: Liminal Rites offers a gloss of history, along with some personal accounts, as well as a selection of recipes.
Tara Sanchez’s Temple of Hekate is a workbook that guides the practitioner through a series of rites that can build a relationship with the Keybearing Queen.
Sarah Iles Johnston’s Hekate Soteira proffers the academic discussion of Hekate as She came to be understood in the Hellenistic era, as well as a brief discussion of Her earlier roles in the Mediterranean world.

3. I’m scared Hekate will curse me!
Seems unlikely. My experiences have led me to understand Hekate as being an understanding sort, though She does expect Her devotees to uphold their promises to Her.
She gets typecast as being far more grim than She is by some modern practitioners. Some others opt instead to castrate Her of Her more difficult aspects. The truth is somewhere in between.

4.  What to do when you feel disconnected from Hekate?
Honestly? There’s nothing wrong with taking a break. Most likely, you’ll find your feeling overwhelmed with some other part of your life. I am dealing with this of late myself, to a small extent. I’ve been pretty ill, and between that and the resulting doctor visits, I’ve struggled to be connected.
I generally refer to these as fallow-times, and think of it as  letting my spiritual fields rest and recharge for later work. Take some time, and see if things are better later.
If they aren’t. If it has been weeks (months) or even a year without a real connection,  realize that sometimes relationships need rebuilt. Start anew. Go back to basics.
And if that doesn’t work, it is possible that your relationship with Hekate was for a particular time in your life. Like with friendships, relationships with deities can wane and even stop. It may be time for your path to head in a new direction. You may hear Hekate’s call again later.

5. How to set up Altars?
That really depends on your tradition. A basic shrine for Hekate could be as simple as a key and a candle.  If you look around on groups like Hekate’s Crossroads and @fuckyeahaltars you’ll see that shrines and altars are as varied as the people who build them.
I have one, my doorside shrine, which has small figures of animals associated with Hekate, a watercolor painting of Her, a key necklace, a statue of an angel (which I use as an image of Hekate Angelos), and a candleholder with a tea light.
Be creative. Altars grow and change. You don’t need to rush out and buy a lot of gear to get it going.
For my work altar, because my original training was in neo-Wicca, I tend to have something to represent each of the four elements, a statue, an offering plate or bowl, and, because I’m an artist who has painted way too many Hekate images, a painting of Her.
Keep in mind, most altars you see online were built after years of practice. Take your time. Building an altar and the gear to build one requires time, but not money necessarily. Scour thrift shops, pay attention to gifts given to you. I’m amazed at the number of things given me that are perfect for my shrines.

6. What are Her symbols?
Prominent symbols are keys and torches. Hekate’s Wheel, or Strophalos, is a modern adaptation of what appears to have been a Mycenean button, but it has become one of the most popular images.  Other symbols are anchors, stars, crescent moon and star.
As one practices with Her, other symbols may rise for one personally, and it can be a wonderful path to discover if others have also received those symbols, and if they have an ancient precedence. Just keep in mind that those symbols are ultimately between you and the Goddess, and may be meant just for you.

7. Animals?
Dogs come up often for Hekate. It is said that on the deipna dogs will howl when She comes to attend the ritual. But they’re not the only animal that is associated with Her. Hekate is said to have snakes in Her hair. Mystics have seen Her associated with bulls, horses, goats, and lions. The Greek Magical Papyri say that in working with Her you will perceive lions.
Modern practitioners have also connected Hekate with owls, crows, ravens, and bats.

8. Music for Her?
There are several options. My personal favorites are Kathryn Hoss’ country-folk song “Hekate” and Wendy Rule’s song of the same name. I find that my mind will chant the chorus of Rule’s song.
Jade Sol Luna’s music is pretty popular. Daemonia Nymphe has worked some real magic. Both have brought some of the ancient hymns to Hekate into the modern world. The song “Hekate” by the Darklings is lovely as well.
You’ll discover though, that some songs you encounter on the radio or in your every day listening will come to speak of Her. My music playlist for Hekate includes Madonna, Apocalyptica, Adele, and Tori Amos. It doesn’t have to be music that was written consciously for Her for there to be a connection between Hekate and the music.

9. What is a three-way crossroads? How do crossroads relate to Hekate?
Three-way crossroads are usually y-shaped or t-shaped. In the ancient world, many of these had statues of Hekate standing at the junction point. Some scholars speculate that the Hekataion at the crossroads began as a pillar with three Gorgon-like masks hanging in three directions. This may have inspired the three-formed image of Hekate created by Alkamenes.  For the Romans, so intense was the bond between Hecate and the three-ways that they called Her Trivia.
Hekate is, in latter ages, also associated with the four-way crossroad. The shrines there were usually to Hermes, often ithyphallic (with penises).
Crossroads were places where outlaws could be punished and buried. They were associated with outcasts, and are quintessentially places that are in between. As a liminal space, both three and four-way crossroads lay within Hekate’s portfolio, for She is quintessentially the Goddess of all things along boundaries.

10. Hekate and the Mother, Maiden, and Crone:
I personally am no fan of the MMC archetype, let me say that up front.
That said, in the ancient world, Hekate is always presented as a Maiden, even when presented in triplicate. Some stories do survive in which Hekate is described as the Mother of Skylla, but those are rare and late in origin. It isn’t until the early Modern era that Hekate comes to be seen as a old woman.
Even so, She is a God. Zeus and Hermes once appeared as elderly homeless people. Hekate can appear as whatever She will. If She comes to you as a crone, perhaps that’s what you need at the moment.

11. Hekate’s Many Names:
Gods have what are known as epithets. Some epithets connect Hekate to a specific location, such as Hekate Zerynthia. Some refer to moments in the story of Her, such as Hekate Propolos, which alludes to Her role as the companion of Persephone. Others tell us of Her nature, and there we find a multitude of ideas. Hekate is Brimo, which means Angry One, or Crackling Flame, or Terrifying. But She is also Atala, tender and delicate.  We find Her to be Melinoe, the Soothing One, and She is also Aimopotis, the Blood-drinker. The epithets tell of when we can find Her for she is Nyktipolos, Night-wandering. We find hints at the power that She holds. She is Pasikratea, the Universal Queen, and She is Epiphanestate Thea, the Most Manifest Goddess. She is Soteira, our Savior.  All in all, it seems fitting that She carry these many facets, for She is Ameibousa, the One that Transforms.
Hekate manifests in the lives of Her people in many different ways, and always has. She is a God and a Titan; a kindness and a haunt; She serves Persephone, and rules over the Cosmos.  It will take me lifetimes to learn all that I would like to know. 

12. Hekate’s Origins:

Scholars theorize that Hekate most like originated in either Thrace (modern day Northern Greece and Bulgaria) or in Anatolia (modern Turkey). Her iconography and the remnants we have of spells and stories relating to Her suggest that Hekate absorbed the features of many Goddesses along the way. In Caria, Anatolia, She seems to have originated as one of the Mother Goddesses in the mold of Cybele.

13. Deipnon/Deipna?
The Deipnon is a ritual dinner offered to Hekate when the moon is in its dark phase, when it is not visible in the night sky. This household ritual calls for one to fully clean the house, gathering up the remnant of offerings for the month prior, as well as any incense remains, dust, or other debris. One then gathers food offerings along with the debris and takes them to a three-way crossroads, and lays it all out. The participant then leaves without looking back. The rite purifies the house, and provides Her charges  (the dead and outcast) with offerings.

14. Noumenia?
The Noumenia happens when the moon reappears in the sky after the Deipnon. It is a ritual asking the blessing of the Gods upon the household for the new month.

15.  Classical Hekate
The earliest description of Hekate is found in the Theogony by Hesiod. She’s described as a Titaness who has a share of earth, sea, and sky, who is honored by Zeus, and who unites with Hermes in the stables to bring blessings on the livestock. Hesiod’s Hekate brings victory in games and in war. She guides those who rule over the city-state. She brings wealth for the fisherman. She is also a gentle nurse of the young. He’s obviously a bit biased in Hekate’s favor. 
The earliest statue of Her we have shows Her enthroned and  of a type that is reminiscent of the Great Goddesses of Anatolia, like Cybele.
So the early Hekate is a Titaness who has a wide range of gifts. She’s young, but tied closely with blessings for various occupations. Already we see Her as a kourotrophos, the nurse of the young, a title that suggests midwifery. Yet She also gives rulers wisdom in their judgments and picks out Her chosen from the Assembly.  With Hermes and Poseidon, she works.
And Hekate is not mentioned in the Iliad nor the Odyssey.

16. Literary Hekate: 
Euripides and Aristophanes. Aeschylus and Sophokles.  Greek playwrights loved to talk about Medea, about Kirke. As witches both were shown offering gifts to Hekate on the stage.  From Medea helping Iason past the trials of her father to the moment when Hekate sends a chariot for Medea’s grand escape, Hekate’s role in the theater is almost always one in which she walks with the restless dead. Offerings to Her are poured into the ground, and She is described in words that suggest a truly fearsome Goddess.
Gone is the glowing maiden of Hesiod. Here we find a Goddess who is beauteous and young, but is thoroughly chthonic in nature. And here’s the catch. We don’t know how much of this is related to how Hekate was understood in the day-to-day.
We know, for example, that Zeus was looked upon as a protector of civilization off stage, in spite of being described as a lecherous rapist in the theater. By its very nature, traits are expanded and exaggerated  and others are diminished or ignored on the stage, so one is left wondering how much of the Hekate of the plays reflects the Goddess Herself. Which bits are part of how the ancients actually understood Her? What was blown out of proportion for the purposes of plot?
We may never know.  It requires discernment and knowledge to pick out what served as shorthand for everyday ideas of the Gods, and what was blown out of proportion for dramatic purposes

The same sorts of questions can be applied to the Shakespearean Hekate. In MacBeth, Hekate is served by three hags, who get rebuked by the Goddess for their meddling. There is not much description of Her, but her servants seem to favor a bloody and dark art.

17. Mystical Hekate :
                Orphic Hekate – The Orphic Hymn to Hekate is one of the most popular in modern practice. In it Hekate is associated with roads, with three-way crossroads. She has provenance over the earth, sea and sky. She wears robes dyed with saffron (which would be a bright yellow). Here we hear of Her association with the dead, with nature, with dogs. She is described as irresistible and the Keeper of the Keys of the Whole Universe.
                There are also elements of the Hesiodic vision as well. She remains a force in three realms, and a nurse of the young. Here she is called Bullherder, retaining her powers over the herds.
                The Orphics were mystics who claimed to have learned their rites from Orpheus. Their Mysteries were centered around Persephone and Dionysos, and thus included Hekate, who is associated with both of these Divinities. Orphism saw life as a dismal thing to be escaped, and emphasized asceticism, and the rites of their initiations were promised to improve the afterlife. 
                Chaldean Hekate – The Chaldean Oracles have numerous descriptions and references to Hekate. They describe Her as residing between the First Cause of the world (Had) and Creation and a Demiurge (Hadad). It is She who ensouls everything in existence. From Her flows all the virtues. She is Nature itself, as well as being the origin of all life. This Hekate is the Savior, and a Queen of Heaven. 
                In this cosmology, The Father, Had, is transcendental and distinct from the world, and he has created the Demiurge (Hadad) to create Matter, and Hekate to create Spirit. The Mysteries are meant to free the soul from the material world and allow a return to Hekate. This is heavy philosophical thinking with a huge swath of visionary mysticism.
                Eleusinian Hekate – There is some speculation that Hekate played a second-string role as a Guide in the Eleusinian Mystes, which were built around the story of the Abduction of and Return of Persephone. Little is known about the specifics of how Hekate might present in the Rites. A small temple that may have been associated with Hekate (very likely) or Artemis (less likely) and Poseidon has been discovered at the site.

18. Roman Hekate:
 For the Romans Hecate was also known as Trivia, Three-Ways. For the most part She remains the maiden Goddess who stands at crossroads, who is attended by the Restless Dead and hounds. She has the key to all the realms.
                Ovid shared several stories of transformation associated with Hekate, and we must approach his offerings with discernment, because his motivation was purely for entertainment.  
                I have yet to do, or to find, a thorough exploration of the differences between the Roman iteration and the Greek one, but it is certain that there are some distinct differences in interpretation.

19. Hellenistic Hekate :
 By the time that Alexander builds his empire and shortly thereafter dies, and we see the empire fall into four pieces, Hekate has become thoroughly associated with Witchcraft, poisons, and ghosts. Lead tablets and poppets bear curses in Her name, along with Hermes. These are most often uncovered in graves. The surviving documents also back up the trend towards a thoroughly Chthonic understanding of Hekate, and describe Her as having animal heads while emphasizing Her tripartite nature. 

20. Modern Hekate:
Reconstructionist Hekate: Those followers today who resurrect the ancient Greek or Roman practices place Hekate as a Goddess who protects the boundaries of the home and the city. Her role as a force in Witchcraft is acknowledged, but not generally embraced. As with the ancient Greeks, witchcraft does not generally play a large role in groups like Hellenismos. For recon purposes, Hekate is one of the many Gods outside of the Olympians that play a role in the household, but do not necessarily warrant close attention outside of the deipna (and for some the noumenia).
Luciferan/Satanic Hekate: Some branches of the so-called Left-hand Path work with Hekate alongside a variety of Beings. The specific practices vary widely, but Hekate’s relationship with the dead and with poisons and witchcraft are heavily emphasized.
Hekateans:  Some of us are Reconstructionist, some are Luciferan. Some are off on our own little walk away from all others. We have practitioners trained in Wicca, neo-Wicca, neo-Pagan paths, and all else you can imagine. Hekate calls whom She will, and She is vast enough to welcome a wide range of paths. Some of us encounter Her resembling the beneficient Hesiodic facet; others find Her as brimming with righteous fury. Both are Hekate.
Hekate has been worshipped or worked with or followed for more than two thousand years, off and on. She is both a Titaness and a Goddess. She is kind, and cruel. She is Nature. She is the Soul. She is the Goddess who keeps out all those who would do ill to you and yours. I have a theory that She comes to us as we need Her to be in our lives.

 

21. Liminal?
Liminal is a fancy word for having to do with a boundary. When something is liminal, it resides on a threshold between two or more territories. As a guardian of the doorstep, and as Someone who stands at the temple and city gate, Hekate is intrinsically liminal. Indeed, my experience, and from talking to other people who worship Hekate, is that Hekate often comes to us when our lives are on hold, when we are in a liminal place ourselves. It may be that we are between jobs or homes, or that life is just stuck, and that is often when She comes to visit.

22. Is She the Queen of Hell?
Mark Smith names Her as such. If one defines Hades as equivalent to Hell (something I’m personally reluctant to do), then it becomes a bit easier to give Her this name. The answer to this question will vary quite a bit depending on your tradition. Do you place Persephone as The Queen of Hades and work with Her as such in any intensity? Trying to approach Hekate as the Queen may not be wise.
But if you embrace the polyvalent logic of mythology, and understand that Hades can have many Queens and Kings, it becomes less of an issue.
All in all, I don’t connect with this part of Hekatean worship very well. Others, such as Mark Smith, are a wiser source for insight here.

23. Groups Dedicated to Hekate:
Covenant of Hekate (of which I’m a Torchbearer.) – http://hekatecovenant.com
If you have any questions, feel free to ask me. The Covenant of Hekate offers classes in a variety of practices, hosts an annual symposium in Glastonbury, helps with the Rite of Her Sacred Fires, and performs a series of rituals and activities dedicated to Hekate according to the phases of the Moon.

Hekate’s Crossroads (I’m a moderator here.) – https://www.facebook.com/groups/197015770323026/
There are other groups dedicated to Hekate on Facebook, of varying health and quality, but I am (very biased) comfortable saying that Hekate’s Crossroads is one of the better.

If you know of other groups dedicated to Hekate that are active and are relatively welcoming to new faces, please, let me know!

Sources:
Personal experience and extensive conversations with other Hekateans.

Connelly, Joan Breton. Portrait of a Priestess. Princeton, 2007.
D’Este, Sorita. Hekate: Liminal Rites. Avalonia, 2009.
                 —. Hekate: Keys to the Crossroads. Avalonia, 2006.
                —. Hekate: Her Sacred Fires. Avalonia, 2010.
Graf, Fritz. Magic in the Ancient World. Harvard University Press, 1997.
Johnston, Sarah Iles. Hekate Soteira. Scholar’s Press, 1999.
                — (ed.). Religions of the Ancient World: A Guide. Harvard,                            2004.
Kerenyi, Karl. The Gods of the Greeks, Thames and Hudson, 1951.
                —. Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter.                                  Princeton, 1967.
Luck, Georg. Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek and                Roman Worlds: A Collection of Ancient Texts. Johns Hopkins, 2006.
Ogden, Daniel. Magic, Witchcraft, and Ghosts in the Greek and Roman              Worlds. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Rabinowitz, Jacob. The Rotting Goddess: The Origin of the Witch in                    Classical Antiquity. Autonomedia, 1998.
Sanchez, Tara. The Temple of Hekate: Exploring the Goddess Hekate               through Ritual, Meditation, and Divination. Avalonia, 2011.
Sannion. Bearing Torches: A devotional anthology for Hekate.                             Bibliotheca Alexandrina, 2009.
von Rudloff, Robert. Hekate in Ancient Greek Religion. Horned Owl                      Publishing, 1999.