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You discover an antique record player in your attic. It seems to still work, so you crank it up and play the album that's already on the turntable... and then a sweet, sad voice begins to tell you her story...

CW: Character Death Sounds of: Old record player static

I wanted to try something new and wound up improving this. Hope you enjoy it! *********************** Performed and Edited by B.K. Babalon Get early releases, exclusives and more! https://www.patreon.com/babalonswhispers

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Soft Dom GF Helps You Surrender to Sleep | ASMR Sleep Aid | Hypno |Guide...

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Enuma Elish - Soft Reading with Music

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The Lady of Shallot | ASMR Poetry | Whisper Reading | Classic Lit

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Day 13: Hecate and Modern Cultural Issues

Hecate has long been associated with those that live on the margins. While Hecate was worshipped throughout Greece, we find Her cult’s influence the strongest on the outskirts of the empire. Places like Thessaly were thought to be wild, almost barbaric, and the women that paid homage to her were not proper like, for example, Athenian women. They had autonomy, wore their hair wild and practiced sorcery. She is drawn to those most vulnerable in society and frequently roots for the underdog. This can be seen in the stories of Her taking on mortals cursed by other gods as part of Her retinue (Hekabe of Troy, turned into a dog and Galinthias, midwife to Alcmene, turned into a polecate). It is with this awareness of Hecate’s love for the downtrodden and oppressed that I believe She would stand with the Black Lives Matter movement, Indigenous Rights, and Intersectional Feminism. Intersectional… intersection… crossroads, I mean… really! Speaking of Her role as the guardian of the crossroads and travelers, this also indicates that She would be a patroness of Immigrant’s Rights.  And as She is the goddess of childbirth I believe She is furious about the forced sterilizations happening to the detainees right now. Also, as the Ultimate Midwife, I believe She stands firmly on the right of choice when it comes to all issues of Reproductive Justice and would support Comprehensive Sex Eduation.

Lastly, regardless of whether She is depicted as a young woman or a wise Crone, She is a Maiden Goddess. Maiden, in this case, meaning unmarried not necessarily a virgin. By Hellenic standards, a woman who remained unmarried, traveled alone, and went to battle (She brought down a giant in the Olympians’ war the Giantomachy), would definitely be considered Gender Non-Conforming. There is also some evidence that some of Hecate’s priests were eunuchs (which though a modern lens might been as Transgender, Non Binary or Bigender). In Rome, Hecate was sometimes syncretized with Cybele aka Magna Mater, or the Great Mother, who’s priest the galli were known to willingly be castrated and live their lives as women. These gender transgressive priests were often mistreated and ostracized by Roman society, both feared but called upon for religious matters. So LGBTQ+ Rights can be added to the modern cultural issues that Hecate may be connected with.

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Day 12: Places Associated with Hecate Worship

( “Hekate in Greece” by Neheti Creative Commons)

Hecate was worshipped widely across Greece and Asia Minor (Turkey). Evidence of Her cult spreads from modern-day Sicily to across the Black Sea in Georgia.

She was worshiped as a household deity, with small altars called found in people’s homes. She also had markers at crossroads and along roadsides, even on the road leading to the Acropolis. These Hecateria were found in Athens, Aegina, Thrace and Miletus (Western Anatolia/Turkey), and Pachynus (Sicily).

While there is only one temple still standing today, in Lagina, Turkey other temples and shrines around the Hellenic world are mentioned by such epic poets as Ovid, Aristophenes and Euripedes.  The city of Eleusis is also sacred to Her as she takes a major role in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Her cult in Lagina is mentioned by Strabo, in which She is attended by eunuch priests. She was also honored in Byzantium where She is held as the city savior for protecting the people from Philip the Second of Macedonia.

In Rome, She was called Hekate and was also syncretized with Trivia of the Crossroads.

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Day 11: Festivals and Holy Days of Hecate

There are a few different festivals and holidays (holy days) dedicated to Hecate. Of course, the New (Dark) Moon is Hers and is celebrated with the Deipnon, or Hecate’s Supper, a ritual meal I described in further detail in my last post. Let’s look at some of her other sacred times. You will notice that they appear in the end of Summer and beginning of Autumn, times of harvest. One could say this is the season of Hecate. It is interesting to note that this is also often referred to as the “Season of the Witch” or more irreverently, “Spooky Season”, a time when “witchy” types (whether actively pagan or not) get geared up for Samhain/Halloween.

First is the Hecatesia. This is a two-part festival beginning on August 13 or 16, the first harvest. Ritual was held in Greece to placate Hecate and ask her to protect their crops from the late summer storms. Offerings were brought to the three-way crossroads and sacrifices made. In modern times, we can offer to honor Her abundance by sharing our “harvest” with the less fortunate by donating to a food bank or volunteering. Hecate’s Night, the closing of the Hecatesia, takes place on November 16th. This is the closing of the Hecatesia, the end of the harvest season. Celebrate Her with offerings of her favorite foods, plants, and incense. Sing hymns or tell stories about Her. November 30th is known as the Day of Hecate at the Crossroads.

Other days that are sacred or significant to Hecate:

Samhain or Halloween on October 31st, as a night that is said to be an opening between the world of the living and the land of the dead, it holds a liminal space. This “in between” energy, along with it’s associations with the underworld, ghosts, and ancestor reverence make Hallow’s Eve an excellent time to honor Hecate. In Greece, Midwife’s Day is observed on January 8th to celebrate birth workers, who are Hecate’s as She is a goddess of childbirth. The Eleusinian Mysteries were typically celebrated around early September and re-tell the story of Demeter in search of Her absconded daughter, Persephone. Hecate plays Her part in this story as guide and torchbearer.

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Day 10: Offerings to Hecate

Likely the most well-known traditional offering for Hecate is the Deipnon or “Hecate’s Supper”. These are meal offerings held every lunar month, at the New (Dark) Moon to honor Hecate, placate the wandering spirits in Her retinue and make atonement for any wrong doing. In Ancient times the Deipnon consisted of three parts; the meal, the sacrifice (typically a black dog), and purification via fumigation (incense) and clearing of all leftovers.

For the meal offer Her something sweet such as honey, apples or figs. A meat such as lamb or fish, or eggs. She is also found of garlic, pomegranates and red wine. Today we no longer make animal sacrifices, however we can offer Hecate another form of this monthly offering. Appropriate “sacrifices” would be a burnt offering of one of Her many sacred trees such as Yew, Cypress, Hazel, Black poplar, Willow, or any incenses like Myrrh or Camphor. She is also fond of Moon Blood (menstrual blood). Lastly, cleanse your home with incense and khernips (blessed, salted water). It most traditional to perform this ceremony at a three-way crossroads. Another way to honor and give regular offerings to Hecate are with hekataia, small household altars to Her. Typically placed at the front door, but can be anywhere around the home such as the garden.  Hekataia appeals to Her aspect as a household guardian and keeper of the keys. You may make small offerings or prayers at these altars daily or when you pass them coming or going from your home

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Day 9: Common Misconceptions of Hecate

Many of the misconceptions of Hecate are based on the fearful and derogatory stereotypes of witches and other powerful womxn. Others are nineteenth-century interpretations that many modern pagans and mythology fans assume are much older depictions. Let us be clear that Hecate is, indeed, a witch goddess, The Goddess of Witchcraft and Magic. There is no inherent wickedness in this, or anything to be afraid of. Hecate commands respect. Because we are less likely to learn about Her in school they way we may learn of the Olympian gods, many assume She is a “lesser” deity. This is just not so. She is pre-Olympian, a 2nd generation Titaness who took the side of the Olympians in the great war (the Titanomachy) and so, is beloved by the Olympians and honored even by Zeus. Hecate does have association with the underworld, and so with death. However, She is not macabre or bloodthirsty. Nor is she Death or a harbinger of death. She is a guide of souls, lighting their way to their eternal rest with Her twin torches. She also uses Her torches and Her keys to protect families and children and guide travelers along the many crossroads of life.

(Circe by John William Waterhouse)

Hecate has many famous priestess, though they haven’t always had the best press. Medea of The Argonautica and Circe of The Odyssey are both described as witches, priestesses of Hecate.  It is sometimes assumed that because Hecate is a goddess of witchcraft (and also of childbirth) that She is a woman’s deity.  Hecate does not discriminate and welcomes disciples of all genders.

When depicted with three heads, or three bodied, Hecate is seen as one of the many triple or three-in-one goddesses. Typically this trinity is that of Maiden-Mother-Crone, and in modern times Hecate is assumed to take part of the old, wisdom keeper. However, in Ancient times, She was often shown as younger woman, more contemporary in age to the Mother. Was the Crone image an influence from the depiction of a witch as an aged woman or to fit her into the MMC trinity?

Some people associate Hecate, and her connections to the night, magic and death, with the concept of evil. Some of this may be due to a Christianized lens that tends to view the shadow aspects of life as “bad” or “of the devil”. But we know that day needs night, life and death are a continuum and there is no good or bad magic, only magic users with positive or negative intentions. Just as there are deities of water, which can nourish a civilization or wipe it out with a flood, so too, Hecate’s rule over magic and witchcraft are benign. She is not “evil”, nor is She fully “good”. These are human qualities. Hecate… is.

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Day 8: The Many Aspects of Hecate

As we study Her epithets we can clearly see Her many aspects and forms, but let’s take a closer look at some of them. Probably the most well-known, we have Hecate as witch and sorceress.  This aspect is often associated with the Witches of Thessaly, most specifically Aglaonice, the witch-astronomer who could ‘bring down the moon”. This aspect is also connected to the Dark moon.

A beautiful aspect of Hecate that is often forgotten for her more terrific forms, is Her role as a household deity. She is, after all, the Mistress at the Gate and the Keeper of the Keys. Hers is a role of protection, in particular protecting mothers and their children. The sleeping dog at the front door, quietly on secret alert for intruders, is Hecate’s familiar.

Hesiod describe’s Hecate in his Theogony as being given honor and dominion over the Earth, Sky, and Sea by Zeus. Her mother is the Titaness Asteria, goddess of night divination (Astrology?) and She is also associated with the Moon. Lastly, Her most popular form may be that of psychopomp, a guide of souls. We see this in Her cthonic (underworld) aspect, with Her twin torches She guides Demeter in search of her daughter.

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Day 7: Hecate’s Epithets

First, let’s quickly go over what is an Epithet?

In mythology, literature and even classical history, an epithet is a byname (almost like a subtitle) that describes the person or deity and/or their attributes. Examples would be: Catherine “the Great”, Ivan “the Terrible”, Odin “All-Father” and so on. Unfortunately, the term has also been used to mean something more insulting, but in this case, we’re talking about the traditional use of epithets. These titles are especially useful in religion and magic as many deities have multiple aspects and so the differing names, or epithets,  tell us which aspect of a deity is being referred to or called upon.  For instance, if you wanted to evoke Aphrodite in ceremony for world peace, you might call on Aphrodite Urania (Aphrodite the Heavenly) as this aspect is associated with spiritual love. On the other hand, if you were working a spell for erotic or romantic love you would want to speak to Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite of the common people) who overseas interpersonal relationships. Now, to Hecate’s epithets, She has many names, let’s look at what some of them mean.

Hecate as Underworld Deity and Psychopomp (one who guides souls)

Chtonian (Earth/Underworldgoddess)

Propolos (the attendant who leads) Prytania (invincible Queen of the Dead)

Hecate as nurturing goddess of fertility and childbirth

Kurotrophos (Nurse of the Children and Protectress of mankind)

Hecate as ruler of crossroads, travel and liminal spaces (also can reference underworld guide)

Trioditis (gr.) Trivia (latin: Goddess of Three Roads)

Klêidouchos (Keeper of the Keys)

Propylaia (the one before the gate)

Enodia (Goddess of the paths)

Artemis of the crossroads

Hecate as Three-in-One Goddess

Tricephalus or Triceps (The Three-Headed)

Other names:

Phosphoros (the light-bringer)

Hecate carries two-torches. This can be seen as part of Her aspect as psychopomp or ruling over travel. It may also refer to Her role as queen of witches, a teacher to Her priestesses. Interesting to note that this is also an epithet for Prometheus, Lucifer and has connection with Venus (Aphrodite)

Crataeis (the Mighty One)

She took down the giant Klytius all by Herself. Pretty dang mighty!

Antania (Enemy of mankind)

Hecate was/is a popular goddess, but also often feared. This may refer to Her darker aspects as a death deity or witch.

Soteira (“Saviour")

For those that worship Her as Great Goddess.

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Day 6: Hecate’s Related and Associated Deities

Hecate is sometimes seen as a facet or another form of other goddesses pithing the Hellenistic pantheon.  As a Moon goddess she is associated with Selene and Artemis. Through Her connections to the underworld and She is seen as part of a trinity with Perephone and Demeter. In Thessaly, She was strongly associated with ghosts and the goddess Enodia (traveler). While not seen as the same person, there are close connections to Hermes as they both rule over roads, travel and liminal spaces and are two of the few beings that seem to be able to pass through the underworld with impunity.

She has also been syncretized with many deities of the surrounding regions. As a cthonic deity, She is often associated with Ereshkigal, the Queen of the Underworld in Sumerian Mythology. Some propose we may find Her origins in Egypt with hqt (heqet), the goddess of fertility and childbirth who was also associate with magic. We can also find potential syncretization with both Isis as an underworld figure and psychopomp. In Celtic tradition Hecate can be seen in The Morrigan, another three-in-one goddess associated with death, battle, and the underworld. One could also see Her connection, again as underworld deity and death guide, in Maman Brigette of Haiti.

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Day 5: Hecate’s Genealogy

(Scylla, possible child of Hecate)

Hecate is pre-Olympian, as Titaness. According to the Theogony, Hesiod’s epic poem listing the origins of the many Greek Gods, She is the only child of Titans Perses and Asteria, making Her a second-generation Titan. Even though She was a Titan, she was not cast into Tartarus after the Titan-Olympian war but because She fought on the side of the Olympians was held in a place of honor by them. In other tales She is said to be the daughter of Zeus and Asteria or Paion and Asteria. Demeter and Nyx are also said, in other poems, to be Her mother.

Asteria is listed in the Theogony as the sister of the Titaness Leto, with whom Zeus sired Artemis and Apollo. This would make Hecate a cousin to the divine twins. Hecate is a virgin goddess, meaning She has no husband or regular consort. However, in some traditions, She is named as the mother of the monster Scylla.

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Day 4: Favorite Hecate Myths

           (Hecate battle Klytios, Artemis fights Otos in the Giantomacy)

The myths of Hecate are not as readily available in our cultural zeitgeist as say, the many stories of Heracles, Zeus, or even Athena. She is a chthonic, underworld goddess and pre-Olympian. She is mentioned in the Theogony by Hesiod, as a second generation Titan that was honored even by Zeus. She is described as a nurse to the gods. She also engaged in the Giantomachy (the Giant War) on the side of the Olympians, defeating the giant Clytius with her twin torches. This may be my favorite. I love imagining Hecate as this small, fierce woman swinging her flaming torches and outwitting the giant!

Before the Common Era, Homer makes mention of Her helping Demeter search for Persephone after she was taken by Hades. She becomes a guide and companion (a pyschopomp) for Persephone during her time in the Underworld. This myth connects Her with both the Eleusinian Mysteries as well as the triple goddess archetype with Demeter (as Mother) and Persephone (as Maiden). In the Odyssey, the witch Circe is often interpreted as being a devotee or priestess of Hecate. In the Classical period She appears in the writings of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Euripides, as the Mistress of Witchcraft, also associated with death and ghosts. In the Alexandrian epic Argonautica (Jason and the Argonauts), Princess Medea is also a priestess of Hecate and instructs Jason to make sacrifice to Her to gain assistance in attaining the Golden Fleece.

In the early centuries of the Common Era, we find Her in Apuleius’ Metamorphoses. She seems to have a penchant for taking in the outcast, or even cursed.  After the fall of Troy, Queen Hekabe throws herself from the castle walls but Hecate turns her into a dog and makes her a familiar. The poor friend of Alkmene (Heracles’ mother) is cursed to become a polecat by Hera for helping with the unwanted birth, but Hecate takes pity on her and takes the transformed maid as an attendant.

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Day 2: How did you meet Hecate?

How did you become first aware of this deity?

The first memory I have of hearing or reading Her name was in childhood reading D’aulaires’ Greek Myths in elementary school. She is briefly mentioned in passing in the story of Jason and the Golden Fleece as the witch-goddesses and the Patron of the priest-sorceress Medea. I was also obsessed with Shakespeare around this age, maybe 9 or so, and She was mentioned in “Macbeth” as the goddess to the three weird sisters, also witches.  Beyond these brief encounters I knew almost nothing of Her until I was an adult and came across Her depiction in Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” graphic novel series. (It should be mentioned that this three-in-one character is referred to as “The Hecate” and is a syncretization of many triple-goddesses including The Morrigan, The Fates, and The Erinyes aka The Furies).

At 22 I was pregnant with my first child and research meanings of names for the little one. While I was at it I decided to look up my own name, which I had done in the past, and I found the usual translations and interpretations but this time I found a new piece of information… that my name may also have a connection to the goddess Hecate.  Intrigued, I began to read more about Her and was very intrigued to find She ruled over night, witchcraft and childbirth, some of the very things I was most interested in! From then on I’d had a deep respect for Hecate.

It is only this year, some 15 years later, that I found myself working with her for the first time, casting a spell on New Moon, at a crossroads.

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Day 3: Symbols and Icons of Hecate

The most iconic depiction of Hecate is that of the three-formed or three-headed goddess.  This is often in the form of the hekataion, the three figures around a central column. Sometimes a second trio, the Charities (in Rome, Graces) dance around the triple figure of Hecate and Her pillar. Her colors are Black, Red and White; the colors of the triple goddess, night, the moon and blood. 

She is typically shown holding such items as keys, two torches, daggers and/or serpents. In the Greek Magical Papyri She is described as having three heads; a dog, a serpent, and a horse or lion. Elsewhere, such as in Egyptian writing, She is said to have the head of a cow and/or a boar. As She is connected with the Dark (new) Moon she is often shown wear the lunar crown.

Dogs the animals most closely related to Hecate; it is said her approach is heralded by the sound of barking or howling dogs. Dogs were sacred to her and used as sacrifices at crossroads. She is often depicted as being accompanied by a dog and her familiar is the Trojan Queen Hekabe, transformed into a black female dog. Other animals associated with Hecate are  Owls, Polecats (Ferrets), Crows (Ravens?), Snakes, Frogs and Toads, Red Mullet (a kind of fish).

In the times of animal sacrifices black dogs, bulls, or lambs were preferred. In our modern times, offerings of food, libations are more appropriate. For food offerings Hecate is most fond of Pomegranates (food of the Underworld), Apples, Figs, Honey, Garlic, Eggs, Cheese, Bread, Fish (including the aforementioned Red Mullet). Her trees are Yew, Cypress, Hazel, Black Poplar, Willow and She claims all poisonous plants. She is very fond of  Menstrual Blood, dark red wine, dark chocolate and incense such as Myrhh, Civet and Camphor.

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Day 1: A Basic Introduction to Hecate

As I begin to work with my new Patroness, Hecate, I’ve decided to do a 30 day study of her. You can find the 30 day prompts I’m working with at the link at the end of this post.

Hecate is a Goddess of Ancient Greece, though She may be a possible transplant from Anatolia/Asia Minor. She is the Patroness of witchcraft, sorcery, night, childbirth, crossroads, travel, liminal spaces (doorways, portals, etc), and the Underworld.

Hecate (sometimes spelled Hekate) is usually depicted as an old crone. Her other forms can be as three women, or a three faced/headed woman (some of the oldest statues of Her are of three women standing around a pillar, the “Hekatares”, commonly used to guard roads).  As one of the many three-in-one Goddesses She is thought to represent the archetype of Maiden-Mother-Crone, but is most associated with Crone. In some interpretations She plays this Elder part with Persephone and Demeter as the other roles of the MMC trinity.

She was especially popular in Lagina (Turkey) where one Her oldest (and one the few still standing) temples can be found. Also, in Thessaly (Northern Greece/Macedonia), where She was purportedly connected with the Thessalian Witches famed for the ability to “draw down the moon” (in reality causing/predicting lunar eclipse, and for this reason I also interpret Hecate as a Patron of Astronomy). 

Her presence is hailed by the sound of dogs barking. She is scene carrying two torches, keys, accompanied by dogs, snakes and/or horses. She also makes a cameo appearance in Shakespeare’s “Macbeth”, under the name “Hecat”.

(30 Day Prompts Originally Found https://luxettenebris.tumblr.com/post/40795070844/30-days-of-deity-devotion)